The veteran's widow is seeking service connection for the cause of his death, which was due to metastatic pancreatic cancer. The Board has ordered remand as it needs clarification on whether diabetes mellitus (service-connected) contributed substantially or materially to the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The Board requires a medical opinion regarding the degree to which the service-connected diabetes mellitus contributed to the veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- Type II diabetes mellitus, metastatic pancreatic cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- September 14, 2005
- Citation
- 0524992
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 0524992.
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 has granted service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus and diabetic retinopathy, finding that these conditions are related to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, finding that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during his service at Udorn RTAFB and thus meets the criteria for presumptive service connection.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's metastatic pancreatic cancer, which was service-connected, substantially and materially contributed to his death. Therefore, service connection for cause of death is granted.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for type II diabetes mellitus, finding that his service-connected left ankle disability, lumbar spine disability, cervical spine disability, left knee pain, left hip pain, and loss of use of the left big toe disabilities have caused him to become obese, which in turn led to his development of type II diabetes mellitus.
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