The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and potential exposure to Agent Orange. The VA will gather additional medical records and verify service aboard USS Biddle.
The deciding factor: Insufficient evidence was provided to determine the cause of death or whether the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during service.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD, lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20002215
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 service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for COPD, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the Veteran's respiratory condition and his military service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions and a TDIU, as the evidence did not support a finding that any of these disabilities were related to the Veteran's military service.
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