The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and addressing VCAA notice issues.
The deciding factor: The veteran's death was caused by metastatic pharyngeal cancer, but the cause of his death is unclear due to incomplete medical records. The appellant seeks service connection based on presumed exposure to Agent Orange, but this has not been substantiated.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic pharyngeal cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 25, 2004
- Citation
- 0423335
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 0423335.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 were not met.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was attributed to metastatic pharyngeal cancer, which the VA medical opinion found more likely related to tobacco use and alcohol consumption. The Board denied service connection for the cause of death.
- Denied
The veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and he did not have a permanent total disability due to a service-connected condition at the time of his death. Therefore, the claim for dependents' educational assistance is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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