The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for left renal cell carcinoma and gastric cancer, both of which are presumed to be related to herbicide exposure. The case is being sent back for additional medical opinions that address whether these conditions are related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA needs to obtain new medical opinions to determine if the Veteran's cancers are related to his in-service herbicide agent exposure, as previous opinions were deemed inadequate due to their speculative nature and lack of consideration of personal circumstances.
- Claimed conditions
- left renal cell carcinoma, gastric cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 6, 2020
- Citation
- 20044766
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20044766.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's disability rating for his service-connected left renal cell carcinoma was reduced from 100 percent to 0 percent, but the Board has restored the 100 percent rating effective August 1, 2020.
- Granted
The Veteran's kidney cancer, diagnosed as left renal cell carcinoma, is presumed to be related to his exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during service. Service connection for this condition has been granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, gastric cancer, is related to his exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during service. The Board granted service connection for the cause of death based on direct service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error regarding the relationship between the Veteran's toxic exposure and his cause of death, gastric cancer. The VA clinician provided an inadequate opinion.
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