The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's exposure to fire suppression chemicals during service, which may be related to his cause of death.
The deciding factor: The TERA memorandum is inadequate and an addendum opinion is needed to clarify the Veteran's total toxic exposure while on active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic rectal cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 21, 2026
- Citation
- A26036843
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 A26036843.
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 remanded the case due to an inadequate VA medical opinion regarding the Veteran's hypertension and coronary artery disease, which may have contributed to his cause of death.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that the Veteran's causes of death were acute myeloid leukemia and metastatic rectal cancer, and neither hypertension nor coronary artery disease caused or contributed to his death.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that metastatic rectal cancer was not related to in-service toxic exposures or otherwise related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for metastatic rectal cancer, kidney cancer, and liver cancer due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error and the need to satisfy other statutory duties. Further development is necessary regarding the Veteran's exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
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