The Board has reopened the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to new and material evidence submitted. However, further medical opinion is needed regarding whether the veteran's fatal astrocytoma was caused by his herbicide exposure during military service in Vietnam.
The deciding factor: Medical evidence is required to establish a nexus between the veteran's herbicide exposure and his cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- Astrocytoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 9, 2005
- Citation
- 0530034
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 0530034.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his death was not caused by or related to any condition incurred or aggravated during his military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's death from brain herniation and an astrocytoma did not occur during service, and the cause of death was attributed to a service-connected disability (PTSD) or other conditions. The VA medical opinion concluded that the astrocytoma was less likely than not related to his active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, finding that his brain cancer was not caused by any service-connected disability or exposure to herbicides and radiation. The claim was based on direct evidence rather than a presumption.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for DIC benefits, finding that the most recent request to reopen the claim was received on July 30, 2014. The effective date is therefore set at the date of receipt of the claim to reopen (July 30, 2014).
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