The Veteran's cause of death, cardiopulmonary arrest and metastatic poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, is being remanded for a VA examiner to determine if it was related to his Agent Orange exposure during service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the cause of death may have been due to metastasis from another site, which requires further clarification through a VA examination.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, cardiopulmonary arrest
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2018
- Citation
- 18143585
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 18143585.
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 as there was no evidence linking any of the listed conditions to his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, as there was no evidence to support a finding that his cardiopulmonary arrest, metastatic brain disease, or metastatic small cell carcinoma were related to his active duty service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors and to satisfy any statutory or regulatory duty that could aid in substantiating the claim, specifically related to asbestos exposure under the PACT Act.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to inadequate medical opinions.
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