The Board has remanded the case due to uncertainty regarding in-country Vietnam service and potential herbicide exposure. The Veteran's cause of death is listed as pneumonia, hypoxia, and pulmonary fibrosis with underlying causes including chronic obstructive lung disease, aspiration, and a cerebral vascular accident.
The deciding factor: The VA needs to verify whether the Veteran served in Vietnam during his period of active duty and determine if he was exposed to herbicides. This will help establish service connection for cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- pneumonia, hypoxia, pulmonary fibrosis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2010
- Citation
- 1002261
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 1002261.
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 pulmonary fibrosis is related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for pulmonary fibrosis as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and asthma as causes of death. The evidence did not support finding that these conditions were related to his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to duty-to-assist errors, including obtaining signed consent forms and an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's lung complications.
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