The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for a VA medical opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death, as it relates to herbicide agent exposure in Vietnam.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is insufficient evidence to determine if the Veteran’s malignant brain tumor was caused by herbicide agent exposure and thus remanded the case for further evaluation.
- Claimed conditions
- hiatal hernia with reflux, shell fragment wound of the left thigh with retained foreign body, healed rectal fissure, bilateral pterygium, bilateral high frequency hearing loss, malignant brain tumor
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19108747
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 882 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19108747.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for a malignant brain tumor is remanded due to the AOJ's failure to forward records of potential radiation exposure in service to the Under Secretary for Health. The case will be referred back to VA's Under Secretary for Benefits for an opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's brain tumor resulted from exposure to ionizing radiation during active service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted an increased rating of 10 percent for bilateral pterygium effective July 5, 2022.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for a malignant brain tumor, SMC based on aid and attendance/housebound, and the cause of the Veteran's death due to inextricably intertwined issues. The remand requires obtaining a VA etiological opinion regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's brain tumor.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected, and the criteria for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under section 1318 were also not met.
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