The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's Merkel cell carcinoma and his military service, including any exposure to herbicide agents. The Veteran will need to provide information about his medical history and undergo a VA examination.
The deciding factor: The examiner is needed to determine if there is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's current Merkel cell carcinoma is related to his military service, including sun exposure and potential herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Merkel cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2022
- Citation
- 22000871
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,612 · Granted: 16% (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 22000871.
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 Merkel cell carcinoma is granted service connection due to presumed exposure to Agent Orange during his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for Merkel cell carcinoma, finding that it was caused by herbicide agent exposure during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for Merkel cell carcinoma, left knee disability, and neck disability to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for Merkel cell carcinoma based on the Veteran's presumed exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
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