The Board is remanding the case for further development and consideration, including obtaining an addendum to the April 2008 VA opinion regarding whether a service-connected disability caused or aggravated the Veteran's fatal metastatic gastroesophageal carcinoma.
The deciding factor: The examiner was not provided with sufficient information to provide a clear opinion on whether a service-connected disability contributed to cause the Veteran's death, and an addendum is needed to address this issue.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic gastroesophageal carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 30, 2012
- Citation
- 1240989
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 1240989.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board found that the Veteran's fatal cancer was not caused by his in-service service or a service-connected disability, but rather due to an unrelated cause. The decision is mixed as it granted some aspects of the claim and denied others.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board previously denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. The Court affirmed part of the decision and remanded the claim to determine if there is a probability that the Veteran's fatal cancer was related to his period of active military service, including exposure to herbicides. The case is now being remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Board finds that the veteran's cause of death, metastatic gastroesophageal carcinoma, was not caused or contributed to by his military service, including his inservice exposure to herbicides. As a result, the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that a VA medical opinion is needed to determine if the veteran's exposure to herbicides in Vietnam may have contributed to his death from metastatic gastroesophageal carcinoma.
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