The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's skin conditions, which are presumed related to Agent Orange exposure. The AOJ is instructed to obtain a new VA medical opinion addressing whether these conditions are directly related to service.
The deciding factor: The VA clinician provided an inadequate opinion by relying on the lack of in-service diagnosis and not considering the Veteran's lay statements about his symptoms during service.
- Claimed conditions
- skin neoplasms (also claimed as skin rash), actinic keratosis, dermatitis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2021
- Citation
- 21077383
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 21077383.
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 an effective date of June 8, 2022 for the award of service connection for a skin disability (dermatitis). This decision is based on the receipt of an intent to file dated June 8, 2022.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and actinic keratosis as the appeal is considered duplicative of a previous decision.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for actinic keratosis, finding that his condition had its onset during active duty and is related to exposure to harmful sun while deployed in Afghanistan.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for various conditions, including adjustment disorder, benign skin lesions, actinic keratosis, poikiloderma, porokeratosis, Parkinson's disease, benign prostatic hypertrophy, hypertension, increased urinary frequency, diverticulosis, duodenal ulcer, and bilateral cataracts are all granted due to exposure to herbicide agents, mustard gas, and ionizing radiation during service.
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