The Veteran's cause of death is due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus, both diseases presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents. The appeal is remanded for further development to verify the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Thailand.
The deciding factor: Further verification is needed to establish whether the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during his service at U-Tapao RTAFB, which could support presumptive service connection for the cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- Arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, Diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19173589
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 19173589.
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 Board has granted the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of ambulance travel expenses incurred on June 17, 2025 due to an emergency heart attack. The ambulance service was provided by a volunteer organization and later intercepted by a higher-tier EMT company.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment prior to September 28, 2021. From September 28, 2021 to May 22, 2022, the Veteran had a combined total disability rating of 100%, which rendered the issue moot as he was already receiving SMC based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and diabetes mellitus, but granted TDIU for the period prior to January 26, 2024.,Prior to this decision, the Veteran withdrew his claim of service connection for diabetes mellitus.
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