The Veteran's death was not due to his own willful misconduct, but the cause of death (metastatic pancreatic carcinoma) is not service-connected. The Board has remanded for a medical opinion on whether exposure to Agent Orange during service may have contributed to the Veteran's cancer.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the cause of death was less likely as not due to service, primarily because pancreatic cancer is not listed as a presumptive condition related to Agent Orange exposure. However, they have ordered a new medical opinion to address this issue.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic pancreatic carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19145752
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 died of metastatic pancreatic carcinoma. The Board found no causal connection between the cause of death and his service-connected disabilities or medications, thus denying service connection for the cause of death. The appellant is not eligible for dependant's educational assistance under Chapter 35 due to lack of a total and permanent disability resulting from a service-connected condition at the time of her husband's death.
- Denied
The veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the appellant did not file for accrued benefits within one year of his death. Therefore, service connection for cause of death is denied, and entitlement to accrued benefits is also denied.
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