The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to exposure to asbestos or herbicide agents, as well as secondary service connection for elbow disorders and hearing loss. The remand is necessary to verify whether the Veteran served within the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of Vietnam while aboard the USS Hancock.
The deciding factor: The Board found that verification was needed regarding the Veteran's service in the territorial sea of Vietnam, as this could affect his claims for exposure to herbicide agents and secondary service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- colon cancer, left elbow disorder, right elbow disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 28, 2022
- Citation
- 22055336
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 22055336.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the AOJ did not obtain all necessary opinions regarding whether the Veteran's symptoms are related to an undiagnosed illness or medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illness (MUCMI). The claims for service connection for fatigue, fibromyalgia, left elbow disorder, right elbow disorder, and sleep disorder are remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and its relation to service. The Veteran's atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and colon cancer are being evaluated for their relationship to toxic exposure during service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for colon cancer and liver cancer is granted due to the relationship between his in-service toxic exposures, including burn pits. His liver cancer was found to be related to his now service-connected colon cancer.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, shin splints of the right and left lower extremities, multiple sclerosis (MS), thoracolumbar spine disorder, cervical spine disorder, left elbow disorder, left knee disorder, migraine headaches, and right knee disorder are dismissed.
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