The claim for service connection for cause of death is reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The case is remanded for a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's esophageal cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hypertension.
The deciding factor: A medical opinion is needed to determine if there is at least a 50% probability that the Veteran’s esophageal cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hypertension are related to his presumed in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic carcinoma of the brain, primary carcinoma of the esophagus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19129467
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,828 · Granted: 32% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19129467.
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 has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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