The Board has remanded both the service connection for the cause of death and the burial benefits claim due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's exposure to hazardous materials during his military service. The appellant must provide additional information or medical opinions to support her claims.
The deciding factor: The Board cannot conclusively determine if there is a relationship between the Veteran’s conditions and his active duty service without further development of the exposure history and medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- Multiple myeloma, Cerebrovascular accident
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19172191
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 19172191.
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's service connection for acute promyelocytic leukemia on a presumptive basis is granted. However, the claim for service connection on a direct causation basis is remanded due to a failure to provide a TERA examination.
- Denied
The Veteran's retroactive compensation payments were validly created due to concurrent receipt of military pay and VA benefits, resulting in a debt that was properly recouped.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's multiple myeloma, which was presumed to be caused by herbicide agent exposure during service, was a contributing factor to his death. Therefore, the claim of service connection for cause of death is granted.
- Granted
Service connection for multiple myeloma is granted. The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for COPD, PTSD, tinnitus, and bilateral hearing loss, as well as service connection for back, right shoulder, and left shoulder disabilities are being remanded.
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