The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and its relation to service, particularly Agent Orange exposure. A VA opinion is needed to determine if esophageal cancer was caused by service.
The deciding factor: The absence of a disability on the list of presumptive diseases does not disqualify a medical professional from linking it to Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Multiple organ failure, Adult respiratory distress syndrome, Pneumonia, Esophagogastrectomy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 3, 2018
- Citation
- 18124033
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 18124033.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that none of the listed causes were related to his military service and no service-connected disability contributed to his death.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for cause of death, finding that his service-connected conditions did not contribute to his death. The evidence showed well-controlled heart symptoms prior to death and no causal relationship between anxiety and cardiopulmonary disease or renal failure.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by multiple organ failure, which the Board found to be related to service-connected liver disease and other conditions. Service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 were not met.
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