The Board remands the claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of prostate cancer with voiding dysfunction due to a duty to assist error in not considering exposure to herbicide agents in Guam and failing to obtain an opinion on direct service connection.
The deciding factor: The AOJ's failure to consider all theories of entitlement, including direct service connection, constitutes a regulatory and statutory duty to assist error.
- Claimed conditions
- prostate cancer with voiding dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25019772
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 878 · Granted: 46% (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 A25019772.
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.
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The Veteran's Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular Aid and Attendance is granted as of April 25, 2024.,For diabetes mellitus, a rating in excess of 20 percent is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for depression, a rating in excess of 20 percent for prostate cancer with voiding dysfunction, and service connection for obstructive sleep apnea with CPAP. The Veteran's claims are currently under review.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for depression, a rating in excess of 20 percent for prostate cancer with voiding dysfunction, and service connection for obstructive sleep apnea with CPAP. The Veteran's claims are currently under review.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the severance of service connection for coronary artery disease with atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and prostate cancer with voiding dysfunction was improper due to lack of clear and unmistakable error in the original grant of service connection based on herbicide exposure. The appeal is granted.
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