The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development of evidence regarding service connection for renal cell carcinoma, which is claimed as secondary to herbicide exposure. The Veteran's hypertension and obesity are risk factors for renal cell carcinoma, but their relationship to service needs clarification.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the prior opinion did not address the specific questions posed by the remand directives regarding the relationship between hypertension and service connection for renal cell carcinoma.
- Claimed conditions
- renal cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20069787
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,772 · Granted: 37% (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 20069787.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for renal cell carcinoma with partial nephrectomy is remanded due to a lack of development regarding the relationship between his hypertension and the cancer. The AOJ must obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate physician to determine if the Veteran's hypertension caused or aggravated his renal cell carcinoma.
- Dismissed
Your appeal for service connection for renal cell carcinoma with partial nephrectomy has been dismissed because the issue was already validly appealed in a previous docket number.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for renal cell carcinoma is remanded due to the lack of a reasoned medical explanation connecting the facts of his case.
- Denied
The Board has denied the readjudication of service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. The appeal regarding PTSD was withdrawn by the Veteran.
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