The Veteran's death was caused by metastatic pancreatic carcinoma, and the appellant is seeking service connection for this condition based on herbicide exposure in Vietnam. The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine if there is a relationship between the Veteran's pancreatic cancer and his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA needs further medical evidence to assess whether the Veteran's pancreatic cancer may be related to Agent Orange/herbicide exposure during service.
- Claimed conditions
- pancreatic cancer
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2014
- Citation
- 1404450
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 1404450.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not caused by a disability incurred or aggravated in service, and the Board denied the claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the appeal for accrued benefits and has remanded the issue of service connection for cause of death, as there was a duty to assist error related to obtaining a medical nexus opinion regarding in-service herbicide agent exposure.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for liver cancer, lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer, finding that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether these conditions are attributable to the Veteran's in-service exposure to herbicide agents (Agent Orange).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's spouse is seeking to be substituted as the appellant for claims of service connection filed by the Veteran in August 2017. The AOJ has not yet determined whether she meets the requirements to substitute, and this issue must be remanded.
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