The Veteran's death was caused by a myocardial infarction, which the appellant contends is related to his type II diabetes mellitus. The appeal is remanded due to lack of verification of the Veteran's service in Vietnam and for further medical opinions regarding the relationship between the cause of death and the claimed conditions.
The deciding factor: The claim requires verification of the Veteran's presence within the boundaries of the Republic of Vietnam, which was not provided by the appellant or found in the records. Further medical opinions are needed to determine if type II diabetes mellitus caused the myocardial infarction.
- Claimed conditions
- Myocardial infarction, Type II diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2010
- Citation
- 1012717
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 1012717.
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 Board granted service connection for Type II diabetes mellitus, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected unspecified depressive disorder.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that Type II diabetes mellitus and hypertension, which are presumed to have resulted from herbicide exposure during service, contributed substantially to his demise.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's in-service toxic exposure risk activities, including jet fuel and other fuels, to determine if they contributed to his cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to a lack of sufficient evidence addressing all contentions.
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