The Board has remanded the case due to missing medical records from San Antonio Army Medical Center, which may provide information about the Veteran's cause of death and his service-connected lymphoma.
The deciding factor: Medical records are needed to determine the cause of the Veteran's death and whether his service-connected condition contributed to it.
- Claimed conditions
- idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 21, 2018
- Citation
- 18127746
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 18127746.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection have been granted. The Board found that the Veteran's lymphoma is related to his active duty service and has awarded service connection for angina secondary to his service-connected asbestosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's service connection claim for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, including as due to exposure to herbicides and burn pits, should be remanded. The AOJ must obtain a VA medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's pulmonary fibrosis.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the claims for service connection due to the Veteran's death. The appeal is now inactive and will be reactivated if a surviving spouse or other eligible person requests substitution.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was denied, while the Veteran's claim for service connection for diarrhea as secondary to his service-connected idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was granted.
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