The Board has granted service connection for throat cancer, carotid stenosis, and difficulty swallowing with effective dates of June 13, 2012. However, the claims are being remanded due to a failure to obtain VA medical opinions regarding the Veteran's residuals from his service-connected throat cancer.
The deciding factor: The RO failed to attempt to obtain a medical opinion based on the Veteran's medical treatment records to determine the extent of the residuals of his throat cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- throat cancer, carotid stenosis, difficulty swallowing
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2022
- Citation
- A22025947
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 A22025947.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's request for direct payment of attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in an April 2025 rating decision, as the decision was not a result of a valid appeal and did not award any past-due benefits.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for lung cancer is denied. The claim for throat cancer is granted, and the Veteran is awarded a TDIU rating prior to August 10, 2022.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death, including MI, CAD, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and carotid stenosis, is being remanded for further development to assess whether it was caused by or related to symptoms of chest pain during service or toxic exposures during service at Camp Lejeune.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for tonsillar cancer (claimed as throat and respiratory cancer) due to a lack of evidence showing that his condition began during active service or is related to an in-service injury or disease, including presumed exposure to herbicide agents and contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
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