The veteran's death is being remanded for further evaluation of his service connection claim due to presumed Agent Orange exposure and cancer of unknown primary origin.
The deciding factor: Further medical examination is needed to determine the etiology of the veteran's lung cancer and its relation to presumed Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- carcinoma of unknown primary origin, metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2004
- Citation
- 0434354
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 0434354.
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 service-connected COPD is found to have contributed substantially or materially in causing the Veteran's death from metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered a remand to obtain additional medical records and provide the Appellant with appropriate VCAA notice. The VA will then request these records, review them in light of the new information, and provide an addendum opinion on whether COPD was a serious obstacle to the treatment of lung cancer.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that further development is needed to determine if the Veteran's service-connected COPD contributed substantially or materially to his death from lung cancer.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking the cause of death to service or any service-connected disability.
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