The Board remands the case to obtain outstanding SSA records related to the Veteran's claimed gastroesophageal condition, including throat cancer and esophageal adenocarcinoma.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the need to obtain additional medical evidence regarding the Veteran's in-service exposure to mustard gas and other toxic substances, as well as to confirm diagnoses of throat cancer and esophageal adenocarcinoma.
- Claimed conditions
- Barrett's esophagus, throat cancer, esophageal cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2025
- Citation
- 25005590
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 remands the claim for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death to correct predecisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining additional records and a medical nexus opinion.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to a prohibited concurrent election under VA claims processing rules.
- Granted
The Veteran's esophageal cancer is granted service connection due to herbicide exposure during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for gastrointestinal cancer other than esophageal cancer and stomach cancer, brain cancer, and prostate cancer. The issues of entitlement to service connection for esophageal cancer, metastatic esophageal cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and liver cancer were remanded.
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