The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete records, including an autopsy report and terminal hospital treatment records. The appellant's claim for service connection for cause of death is pending.
The deciding factor: The decision was made based on the need for additional development as per VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory failure, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 19, 2010
- Citation
- 1006248
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 1006248.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's acute hypoxemia, respiratory failure, and pneumonia were related to service or toxic exposure under the PACT Act.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for pulmonary hypertension as secondary to the Veteran's already service-connected idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain additional evidence, including service treatment records and private medical records, and to obtain an addendum medical opinion regarding the Veteran's causes of death.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as well as claims for Dependency and Indemity Compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1318, accrued benefits, and additional nonservice-connected burial benefits.
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