The Veteran's cause of death, Esophageal Cancer, is being remanded for further development and medical opinion to determine if it was related to his military service or any conceded asbestos exposure. The issue of whether the esophageal cancer was caused by exposure to burn pits during Operation Desert Storm is also pending.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that clarification is needed on whether the Veteran's in-service asbestos exposure contributed to his death and whether he was exposed to burn pits during Operation Desert Storm.
- Claimed conditions
- Esophageal Cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2018
- Citation
- 18143734
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 18143734.
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 Board has determined that the Veteran's death from esophageal cancer is due to his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which was secondary to his cannabis use disorder. The Board found that the Veteran's cannabis use disorder caused or substantially contributed to his development of esophageal cancer, leading to his death.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD was denied a higher rating, and the TDIU issue was dismissed as moot due to his total disability status from esophageal cancer.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between the Veteran's esophageal cancer and his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and esophageal cancer due to additional development being required.
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