The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the Veteran's service connection for the cause of his death, including whether his gastric cancer developed due to herbicide exposure or was related to a service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: Additional medical opinions are required to determine if the Veteran's gastric cancer and duodenal ulcer contributed substantially or materially to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- gastric cancer, duodenal ulcer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 19, 2014
- Citation
- 1422480
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 1422480.
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 service connection claims for various conditions, including adjustment disorder, benign skin lesions, actinic keratosis, poikiloderma, porokeratosis, Parkinson's disease, benign prostatic hypertrophy, hypertension, increased urinary frequency, diverticulosis, duodenal ulcer, and bilateral cataracts are all granted due to exposure to herbicide agents, mustard gas, and ionizing radiation during service.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, gastric cancer, is related to his exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during service. The Board granted service connection for the cause of death based on direct service connection.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and duodenal ulcer have been dismissed as the appeal was made concurrently with a previously pending supplemental claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error regarding the relationship between the Veteran's toxic exposure and his cause of death, gastric cancer. The VA clinician provided an inadequate opinion.
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