The Veteran's cause of death is remanded for further evaluation, including a VA medical opinion on the etiology of his terminal renal cancer and whether it was related to presumed exposure to herbicide agents during service. Service connection for bilateral eye disability remains unresolved.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that additional evidence is needed to determine if the Veteran's cause of death (renal carcinoma) was related to presumed exposure to herbicide agents during his Vietnam service, and whether his service-connected bilateral eye disability contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Renal carcinoma, Bilateral eye disability
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 3, 2021
- Citation
- 21040311
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 21040311.
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 determined that the Veteran's current bilateral eye disability and bilateral hearing loss are related to his military service, granting service connection for both conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities, hypertension, gastrointestinal disability, bilateral eye disability, and psychiatric disorder due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents in Korea. The Veteran's claims were remanded for consideration of obstructive sleep apnea.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral eye disability, finding no evidence that the condition was incurred in or caused by service and noting that it is not related to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a bilateral eye disability, a bilateral foot disability, and a skin disability of the feet, to include the left first toenail, due to duty-to-assist errors.
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