The Veteran's cause of death was renal cancer, which is not service-connected. The Board cannot conclude there is no reasonable possibility that the cause of death could be related to his presumed exposure to herbicide agents while serving in Vietnam. Further development is required.
The deciding factor: There are no medical opinions linking the cause of death to service or herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- renal cancer, metastasis to the brain
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 4, 2019
- Citation
- 19125589
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection for renal cancer, finding no evidence of a nexus between the disease and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran was granted a 10 percent initial rating for hypertension and special monthly compensation at the rate authorized by 38 U.S.C. § 1114(m), (n), and (r)(1) effective from August 10, 2022, to November 7, 2024.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim for accrued benefits based on service connection for renal cancer, as the claim that was pending at the time of the Veteran's death was not timely appealed.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for renal cancer, for purposes of accrued benefits, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran's surviving spouse.
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