The claim cannot be resolved based on the evidence of record and requires further development, including clarification of the cause of death, verification of service in Vietnam, and obtaining additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: Further development is necessary to clarify the cause of death and determine if it is related to herbicide exposure during service in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- failure to thrive, end-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 16, 2008
- Citation
- 0816197
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 684 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0816197.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, as there is a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding the Veteran's prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The appeal is remanded to correct errors in the duty-to-assist process. The Board will consider new evidence on whether the Veteran's service-connected diabetes contributed to his death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death is granted presumptively due to herbicide exposure, specifically Agent Orange. Accrued benefits are denied as no claim was pending at the time of his death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected parasomnia contributed to his development of myocardial infarction, which ultimately led to his death. The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
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