The Board has determined that the VA examinations and opinions are inadequate for the issues of service connection for scars, muscle disability, seventh facial nerve disability, left eye disability, residuals of a radial necrectomy, left jugular vein removal, and parotid gland removal, all secondary to skin cancer. These claims must be remanded again due to non-compliance with previous instructions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide a rationale for the opinion regarding whether the Veteran's diagnosed skin cancers were incurred in or caused by his service, including in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- skin cancer, scars, muscle disability, seventh facial nerve disability, left eye disability, residuals of a radial necrectomy, left jugular vein removal, parotid gland removal
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 8, 2022
- Citation
- 22039129
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 22039129.
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 service connection claims for skin cancer and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have been denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions, and the evidence does not support a causal relationship to active military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of April 14, 1972 for the award of service connection for scars and denied a compensable disability rating.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for special monthly compensation and service connection was denied due to a late filing of the Board Appeal request.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to duty-to-assist errors, including failing to obtain SSA records and VA medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's left eye disability is secondary to his service-connected hypertension.
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