The Board has remanded the claim for tonsillar cancer (claimed as esophageal/throat cancer) due to insufficient consideration of service treatment records indicating throat issues and post-service medical records noting significant tobacco use. The Veteran is presumed to have been exposed to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during his service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner was requested to address the notations in the Veteran's service treatment records indicating throat symptoms, as well as the Veteran's history of tobacco use.
- Claimed conditions
- tonsillar cancer, esophageal/throat cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 20, 2023
- Citation
- 23023195
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 23023195.
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 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for tonsillar cancer and metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck are remanded due to a duty to assist error. The Board finds that VA failed to provide a VA examination prior to the May 2020 rating decision on appeal.
- Granted
Service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted due to his service-connected tonsillar cancer being identified as the immediate cause of death.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for tonsillar cancer was granted with an effective date of January 13, 2020.
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