The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to determine the Veteran's period of service in the United States Army Reserve and to obtain relevant medical records. The claim for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma will be remanded for a VA examination to address the nature and etiology of the condition, including any potential link to microwave emissions from ground-surveillance radar equipment during active service.
The deciding factor: The Board found pre-decisional duty-to-assist errors in not obtaining the Veteran's Reserve-service STRs and SPRs and in not requesting an appropriate VA examination. These errors necessitate remanding the case for further development.
- Claimed conditions
- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 26, 2024
- Citation
- A24086053
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 A24086053.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on a presumptive basis under the PACT Act, effective March 2, 2017.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for back pain and neck pain, finding no current disability. The claim for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is remanded due to inadequate consideration of all potential exposures.,The claim for an acquired psychiatric disability (PTSD) is also remanded due to a lack of development of the Veteran's therapist's records.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's request for an earlier effective date for service connection of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, finding that the claim was filed within one year of separation from active duty and therefore the earliest possible effective date is October 15, 2020.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was granted with an effective date of March 13, 2024. This decision is based on the PACT Act becoming effective and the Veteran's symptoms being consistent with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma since April 14, 2022.
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