The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical evidence regarding the cause of death and Agent Orange exposure. The appellant seeks service connection for the cause of her husband's death, which is believed to be related to his service-connected conditions and potential Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: VA needs additional medical opinions based on a complete review of the Veteran’s file, including recent treatment records and the Death Certificate.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic esophageal cancer, peripheral neuropathy, hypertensive heart disease, bowel and bladder incontinence, nephropathy and hypertension, diabetes mellitus with erectile dysfunction, low back disability, bilateral cataracts, peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities, bilateral knee disability, prostatitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19179799
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,902 · Granted: 11% (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 19179799.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral shoulder disability and increased ratings for her bilateral knee disabilities, finding no evidence of in-service injury or disease related to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for a neurological examination to determine if any diagnosed radiculopathy or other neurological disability affecting the lower extremities was caused or aggravated by service-connected conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that remand is needed for the Veteran's claims due to duty to assist errors, including clarification of periods of service and obtaining relevant records. The Veteran will be afforded new medical examinations for each claimed disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's Special Monthly Compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular Aid and Attendance is granted as of April 25, 2024.,For diabetes mellitus, a rating in excess of 20 percent is denied.
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