The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for cause of death due to exposure to Agent Orange while working as an aircraft mechanic in Thailand. However, the case is remanded for further consideration on the merits.
The deciding factor: New evidence submitted by the Appellant suggests potential exposure to Agent Orange but does not establish a direct link to her husband's lung cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the lung
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 23, 2019
- Citation
- 19139171
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 317 · Granted: 19% (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 19139171.
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 Veteran's cause of death is not service-connected due to lack of evidence linking the condition to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the grant of service connection for cause of the Veteran's death was not clearly and unmistakably erroneous, thus restoring service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the lung is granted service connection as it was related to herbicide exposure during service. The claim for a low back disorder remains pending and requires additional development.
- Denied
The veteran's death was caused by metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, which is not service-connected as it did not occur during his active duty or due to exposure to herbicides. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the cause of death to his period of service.
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