The Board has ordered a medical opinion to determine if exposure to poisons at the veteran's last radar site and non-ionizing radiation contributed to his death. The case will be remanded for further review.
The deciding factor: The VCAA requires VA to obtain a medical opinion when there is lay or medical evidence indicating that the disability may be associated with active service, even if it is not explicitly stated in the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- cause of death, poison exposure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 26, 2005
- Citation
- 0501890
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 0501890.
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 remands the claim for a clarifying opinion on whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused his death through obesity as an intermediate step.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for cause of death due to a need for additional evidence, specifically an autopsy report and a medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, to include as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation, due to lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for cause of death due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error and the need for a VA medical opinion.
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