The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and whether exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam contributed to it. The Appellant's claim will be reviewed again with a focus on obtaining additional medical opinions.
The deciding factor: The Board requested a VA medical opinion to determine if the Veteran’s esophageal cancer, which led to his death from septic shock, was related to exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- septic shock, lactic acidosis, acute respiratory failure, schele liver ischemia, hepatic and esophageal cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19116036
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 19116036.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, for purposes of entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), as further development is necessary.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's acute respiratory failure is related to service, including participation in a toxic exposure risk activity as a fire crewman.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a new medical opinion to address whether the Veteran's asbestos exposure contributed to his death.
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