The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been presented to reopen the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. The case is remanded for additional development, including a VA medical opinion on whether the Veteran's pancreatic cancer was caused or aggravated by in-service chemical exposure.
The deciding factor: The newly received evidence relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim (a nexus between service and the cause of death), namely, evidence of a relationship between the Veteran's military service and his terminal cancer. The Board finds that it is both new and material.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic pancreatic carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 28, 2009
- Citation
- 0941032
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 0941032.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
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: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, finding that there was no evidence linking his pancreatic cancer to his military service or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was not due to his own willful misconduct, but the cause of death (metastatic pancreatic carcinoma) is not service-connected. The Board has remanded for a medical opinion on whether exposure to Agent Orange during service may have contributed to the Veteran's cancer.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his presumptive exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam contributed at least partially to his pancreatic cancer.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was pneumonia due to metastatic pancreatic carcinoma. The Board found that the service-connected dysthymia substantially contributed to his fall and subdural hematoma, which ultimately led to his death.
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