The Board has determined that there was a claims processing error and the Veteran's appeal should have been handled under the legacy system. The matter is now remanded for the issuance of an SOC addressing the issue on appeal, which includes whether new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for prostate cancer.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was a claims processing error when the Veteran's April 2019 NOD (VA Form 21-0958) was not recognized, leading to the appeal being placed on the AMA Hearing docket in response to the May 2019 VA Form 10182. The correct course of action is for the matter to be re-docketed under the legacy system and an SOC should be issued.
- Claimed conditions
- prostate cancer
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 7, 2023
- Citation
- 23037606
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 23037606.
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 service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for prostate cancer, bone cancer, and lymph node cancer has been granted. The prostate cancer is presumed due to herbicide agent exposure during service at RTAFB Takhli. Bone cancer is secondary to the service-connected prostate cancer. Lymph node cancer is also considered secondary to prostate cancer.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer but remanded the claim for PTSD due to insufficient verification of stressor incidents.
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