The Board has determined that a full medical opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's service-connected basal and/or squamous cell carcinoma contributed to or aggravated his lung cancer, which was the cause of death. The appeal will be remanded for this purpose.
The deciding factor: The Board found the existing medical opinions inadequate and requires additional analysis regarding the relationship between the service-connected conditions and the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- malignant neoplasm of the lung stage IV, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2024
- Citation
- A24073556
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,677 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A24073556.
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 decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the Veteran's basal cell carcinoma. The Veteran is seeking service connection for this condition, which he claims was caused by exposure to water-based contaminants at Camp Lejeune during his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma is granted as secondary to his service-connected eczema and psoriasis. The initial compensable evaluation for toenail psoriasis remains denied.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection of squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and actinic keratosis as the appeal is considered duplicative of a previous decision.
- Partly granted
The Board has determined that the severance of service connection for neoplasm hard and soft tissue of the mouth was improper, as there is conflicting medical evidence regarding the cause of the condition. The Veteran's conditions are related to his active duty service.
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