The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and potential herbicide exposure during service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is not enough information about the Veteran's treatment records and medical nexus opinions, which are necessary to determine if his esophageal cancer was caused by service or herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic esophageal adenocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19182881
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 19182881.
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 service connection for Parkinson's disease and Type II diabetes mellitus due to presumed exposure to herbicide agents, specifically Agent Orange. Service connection for metastatic esophageal adenocarcinoma is remanded as the AOJ failed to obtain a direct service connection medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of service personnel records and the need to verify the Veteran's exposure to herbicides while stationed at Ramasun Station. The cause of death is attributed to metastatic esophageal adenocarcinoma, but there is contention that atherosclerotic heart disease may be related to herbicide exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's metastatic esophageal adenocarcinoma is not service-connected, and the Board has remanded to determine if his service-connected disabilities contributed substantially or materially to cause his death. The issues of service connection for metastatic esophageal adenocarcinoma and cause of death are inextricably intertwined.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of her husband's death and DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318, finding no evidence linking the veteran's esophageal adenocarcinoma to his military service or exposure to Agent Orange or asbestos.
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