The Board has remanded the case due to a need for an independent medical opinion from a non-VA affiliated expert regarding the etiology of the Veteran's brain tumor.
The deciding factor: The VA has typically relied on a report by the National Academy of Sciences, which found inadequate or insufficient evidence of an association between brain cancer and herbicide exposure. However, this does not necessarily mean that there is no relationship.
- Claimed conditions
- brain tumor, left temporal lobe, residual right-sided paralysis, blindness
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20081192
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,836 · Granted: 31% (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 20081192.
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 lung cancer and brain tumor are granted service connection, while his basal cell carcinoma (claimed as multiple myeloma) is denied. The Board found no evidence of herbicide exposure in Guam or elsewhere during active duty.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for specially adapted housing or special home adaptation, as they do not qualify for permanent and total disability due to loss of use of extremities or anatomical regions.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals of the Veteran's claims for bilateral hearing loss, lumbar spine disability, and brain tumor as no longer pending due to the cancellation of hearings and the granting of service connection for a back disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate exposure records and medical opinions, and because the issues of service connection for brain tumor, migraine headaches, and seizures are intertwined.
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