The Board has remanded the claims for service connection and SMC based on aid and attendance/housebound status due to incomplete development, including verifying herbicide exposure during service. The claim for death pension benefits is dismissed as moot.
The deciding factor: Incomplete verification of herbicide exposure during service prevented a determination on the merits of the service connection claims.
- Claimed conditions
- colon condition, metastatic carcinoma of the lung
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 31, 2022
- Citation
- 22031666
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 22031666.
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 Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a colon condition, including as caused by herbicide agent exposure or secondary to his service-connected disabilities, was denied. The Board found that the evidence did not support a finding of service connection on any basis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for a back condition and colon condition are being remanded due to inadequate medical opinions. The AOJ must obtain new or addendum opinions from qualified clinicians, including possibly a GI specialist, to address the Veteran's lay statements regarding his conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to errors in duty to assist and regulatory or statutory duties, specifically for a VA examination and opinion regarding the etiology of the gastrointestinal disability, including cecal mass.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death while it was pending.
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