The Board has ordered a remand for the Veteran to be provided with an addendum opinion regarding his soft tissue sarcoma, specifically addressing whether it is at least as likely as not related to service and herbicide exposure. The examiner must consider the possibility of herbicide exposure even though it is not on the list of presumed diseases.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the remand instructions were not substantially complied with due to the lack of direct consideration of herbicide exposure in the examination report.
- Claimed conditions
- soft tissue sarcoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20068146
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,316 · Granted: 43% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20068146.
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 Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus type II, soft tissue sarcoma, and hypertension. The Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents is presumed due to his service in Thailand with the 18 Organizational Maintenance Squadron (PACAF).
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for basal cell carcinoma, but denied service connection for soft tissue sarcoma. The case is remanded to obtain a medical opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's basal cell carcinoma.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection have been dismissed due to the withdrawal of all claims by the Veteran through his authorized representative.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for multiple myeloma and soft tissue sarcoma, finding no evidence of these conditions during or approximate to the pendency of the claim.
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