The Board has determined that further development is necessary due to the need for a VA opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death was caused by exposure to Agent Orange in service. The claim will be remanded for this purpose.
The deciding factor: Further development is required as there is no clear nexus opinion with a supporting rationale provided by the Veteran's two private doctors, and the cause of death needs to be determined based on VA medical expertise.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatocellular carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 28, 2015
- Citation
- 1518136
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 1518136.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for hepatocellular carcinoma, which is secondary to hepatitis C, has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's requests for earlier effective dates for service connection of kidney cancer and liver cancer, finding that no formal or informal claims were filed prior to February 12, 2025.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and relevant evidence has been received to reconsider the claim for DIC. The AOJ will now review the case in light of all available evidence.
- Granted
The Board has granted the claim of service connection for hepatocellular carcinoma, finding that it was aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected diabetes mellitus type II.
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