The Board has determined that additional action is required in the appeal of several claims, including those for service connection and increased ratings. The appellant must be notified about her rights to pursue these service connection claims as either a substitute or an accrued benefit claimant. If she proceeds as a substitute claimant, she will need to provide information and authorization for any additional evidence needed.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the appellant needs to be specifically notified about her rights to pursue the service connection and increased rating claims pending at the time of the Veteran’s death as either a substitute or an accrued benefit claimant.
- Claimed conditions
- cause of death, colon cancer, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19136472
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,196 · Granted: 17% (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 19136472.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a higher evaluation of his service-connected chronic fatigue and weakness due to chemotherapy and radiation treatment for lung cancer is granted, with an evaluation of 60 percent.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for residuals of lung cancer from May 1, 2005 is denied.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for intestinal cancer, liver cancer, and a liver biopsy surgical scar as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected intestinal cancer.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal because the Appellant did not specify which specific decision or issue she disagreed with, specifically regarding her claim for service connection related to Camp Lejeune exposure.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of liver cancer has been dismissed due to their death during the pendency of the appeal.
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