The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of service personnel records and the need to determine if the veteran had duty or visitation in Vietnam, which could affect his claim for service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The absence of service personnel records prevents VA from determining whether the veteran served in Vietnam, which is necessary to establish exposure to herbicide agents under presumptive service connection criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial asthma, lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2005
- Citation
- 0500707
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 0500707.
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 granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for bronchial asthma, bilateral knee strain, and lumbosacral strain due to a procedural defect in docketing.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease but denied service connection for irritable bowel syndrome. The Board also denied an increased rating for the Veteran's service-connected psychiatric condition.
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