The veteran's death is being reviewed for service connection, but the RO needs to obtain additional medical records and possibly a medical opinion before making a determination.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence is needed to determine if the cause of the veteran's death was related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic carcinoma of the right tonsil, bilateral pneumonia, chronic lung disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 3, 2005
- Citation
- 0502531
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 673 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0502531.
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 Veteran's cause of death was determined to be related to service-connected conditions, specifically metastatic colon cancer and coronary artery disease. The Board granted the claim for service connection based on the evidence provided.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's claimed pulmonary conditions, including whether they are related to service exposure. The Veteran is requested to provide an adequate opinion from a clinician.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted the appellant's recognition as the Veteran's surviving spouse for VA death benefits, but has found a duty to assist error in failing to obtain a medical opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death. The case is therefore remanded for this purpose.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development of the Veteran's service records, particularly regarding his exposure to herbicides in Korea. The Appellant seeks service connection for her deceased spouse's cause of death and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
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