The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's cause of death is related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents, specifically Agent Orange. The VA will need to provide an opinion on this issue.
The deciding factor: The opinion provided by Dr. C.F.S., while not sufficient for service connection, triggers VA’s duty to assist and requires a new medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's cause of death and his in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- neurological disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19196966
Veterans Law Judge
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 19196966.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal as the appellant died during the pendency of the case, and thus has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the service connection claim for a neurological disorder secondary to a service-connected left shoulder disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has ordered the AOJ to obtain missing VA treatment records from 1972-1980 and seek new medical opinions on the nature and etiology of the Veteran's claimed neurological disorders, including trigeminal neuralgia. The AOJ must also ensure that any examination report complies with these instructions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various neurological conditions as secondary to iron deficiency anemia, finding no current diagnosis of any of the claimed conditions.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a neurological disorder has been withdrawn by the Veteran.
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