The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the cause of the Veteran's death, specifically whether his coronary artery disease aggravated his pancreatic cancer.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions are needed to determine if the Veteran’s coronary artery disease contributed substantially or materially to his death and whether it aided in causing his death.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease, pancreatic cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19132884
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for pancreatic cancer as there was no evidence of a nexus between the in-service toxic exposure and the current condition.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, left eye diabetic retinopathy, left foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease, as well as the Veteran's cause of death.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for pancreatic cancer, finding that the evidence is in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's condition was due to his in-service exposure to toxic and environmental hazards.
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