The Board has reopened the claim to establish service connection for cause of death due to new and material evidence submitted by the appellant. However, the appeal is remanded as further development is needed to determine the primary cause of death and whether any in-service exposure to herbicide agents contributed to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: Further investigation into the medical records and service history is required to accurately determine the cause of death and its relationship to service.
- Claimed conditions
- renal cell carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19182292
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 claim for service connection for renal cell carcinoma, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the condition and her military service.
- Granted
The Board granted SMC based on the need for regular aid and attendance due to the Veteran's service-connected renal cell carcinoma.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for renal cell carcinoma, finding that it was due to the Veteran's service-connected hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his causes of death were not related to his military service.
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