The Veteran's death was caused by metastatic adenocarcinoma of the colon. The appellant seeks to establish service connection for this cause of death, arguing that it arose as a result of Agent Orange exposure and is related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus. However, further medical opinion is needed to determine if the service-connected diabetes contributed substantially or materially to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The Board requires an expert medical opinion regarding whether the service-connected Type II diabetes mellitus caused or aggravated the colon cancer beyond natural progression.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic adenocarcinoma of the colon
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2016
- Citation
- 1601855
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 1601855.
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 Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's cause of death was misdiagnosed and if he had soft tissue sarcoma instead. The RO is instructed to obtain an addendum medical opinion on these issues.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic adenocarcinoma of the colon, was not service connected as due to exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam or secondary to a previously service-connected condition.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to metastatic adenocarcinoma of the colon, finding that there was no evidence linking it to service-connected disabilities or presumed exposure to Agent Orange.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the cause of death and the potential impact of herbicide exposure on the Veteran's condition.
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