The Veteran's death is due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and haemophilus influenza pneumonia. The cause of the Veteran's death is being reviewed, along with whether his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder and/or malaria contributed to or caused his COPD and/or pneumonia.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner will determine if the Veteran's death was related to his active service, including presumed exposure to Agent Orange while in Vietnam. The examiner will also assess whether his service-connected PTSD and/or malaria contributed to or caused his COPD and/or pneumonia.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Haemophilus influenza pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 17, 2014
- Citation
- 1441632
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 1441632.
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 Veteran's death was caused by acute hypoxic respiratory failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with hypertension as a significant contributing factor. The Board finds that remand is necessary to obtain the Veteran's complete military records and treatment records.
- Dismissed
Your appeal for service connection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death. The Board cannot issue a decision on this claim as it is no longer pending.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as none of the listed causes were related to his period of active duty or presumed exposure to herbicides.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple disabilities, including thoracolumbar spine disability, bilateral knee and hip disabilities, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, COPD, and denied an initial rating higher than 50 percent for MDD with GAD.
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