The Veteran's kidney condition, including hydronephrosis and/or renal cyst, is remanded for further review due to a failure to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of his condition. The examiner must consider all potential exposures, including contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and fuels as a result of his MOS as a bulk fuel man.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's contentions were raised prior to the April 2025 rating decision but an adequate medical opinion was not obtained regarding the etiology of his kidney condition.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral kidney condition, hydronephrosis, renal cyst
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 4, 2026
- Citation
- A26019371
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 A26019371.
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 has granted service connection for a dilated aorta as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected hypertension, but denied service connection for a renal cyst condition. The denial of the renal cyst claim is due to insufficient evidence linking it to the Veteran's service-connected hypertension.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension is granted as presumptively due to herbicide exposure under the PACT Act. The Veteran's prostate cancer, elevated PSA levels, and other conditions are denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's hydronephrosis is granted with a 10 percent evaluation effective August 23, 2011. The Board remanded the case for further development and consideration of increased evaluations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for kidney disability, thyroid cancer, and a rating in excess of 30 percent for PTSD due to inadequate medical opinions and failure to obtain VA examinations.
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