The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's death and his service, particularly concerning exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion provided was not comprehensive enough to address all aspects of the issues raised in the appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- cholangiocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19183772
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 granted an effective date of November 30, 2016, but not earlier, for the award of service connection for cholangiocarcinoma.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, cholangiocarcinoma, based on evidence supporting a direct relationship between the disease and the Veteran's in-service exposure to Agent Orange.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal for a survivor's pension was denied due to the appellant's countable income exceeding the maximum annual pension rate. The Board also remanded the issue of service connection for cause of death.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to cholangiocarcinoma, finding no evidence that it was caused by exposure to herbicides or liver flukes during service, and also found no aggravation by a resolved laryngeal cancer.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.