The Veteran's cause of death, end stage renal disease, is being remanded due to the lack of verification if his service in Vietnam exposed him to herbicide agents. The Board will attempt to verify the USS Mullinix's position during the relevant period.
The deciding factor: Verification was not attempted whether the Veteran's ship sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Republic of Vietnam, which is a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- renal disease, renal cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 3, 2024
- Citation
- A24051665
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 A24051665.
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.
- Dismissed
Your appeal for service connection for renal cell carcinoma with partial nephrectomy has been dismissed because the issue was already validly appealed in a previous docket number.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for renal cell carcinoma with partial nephrectomy is remanded due to a lack of development regarding the relationship between his hypertension and the cancer. The AOJ must obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate physician to determine if the Veteran's hypertension caused or aggravated his renal cell carcinoma.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for renal cell carcinoma is remanded due to the lack of a reasoned medical explanation connecting the facts of his case.
- Denied
The Board has denied the readjudication of service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. The appeal regarding PTSD was withdrawn by the Veteran.
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