The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete service records and the need for a VA medical opinion regarding herbicide exposure outside of Vietnam. The Veteran's cause of death is listed as cardio-respiratory arrest, with antecedent causes of acute pulmonary edema and cardiac dysrhythmia.
The deciding factor: The Board needs to verify the Veteran's service in Vietnam or any exposure to herbicides outside of Vietnam before determining if his diagnoses related to such exposure contributed significantly to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- cardio-respiratory arrest, acute pulmonary edema, cardiac dysrhythmia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 5, 2015
- Citation
- 1542770
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1542770.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no evidence that any service-connected disability caused or contributed to his death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his death was not caused or contributed to by any condition related to his military service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death is related to his military service, including exposure to herbicide agents and/or his service-connected coronary artery disease.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service connection claims for coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, type II, hypertension (secondary to coronary artery disease), shortness of breath (secondary to coronary artery disease), valvular heart disease (secondary to coronary artery disease), and cardiac dysrhythmia (secondary to coronary artery disease) are all granted due to exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents at U-Tapao base in Thailand, which is considered presumptive for ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus, type II.
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