The Board has remanded the cases due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the causes of death and the Veteran's alcohol abuse. The issues are inextricably intertwined, so both must be addressed together.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions are needed to determine if the Veteran’s exposure to contaminants at Camp Lejeune caused his causes of death or if his alcohol abuse was a contributory cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic esophageal cancer, hepatorenal syndrome, end-stage liver disease, cardiopulmonary arrest
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20002842
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,071 · Granted: 26% (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 20002842.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death was linked to his service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was caused by cardiorespiratory arrest and metastatic esophageal cancer. The appellant is recognized as the surviving spouse, but service connection for cause of death remains pending due to insufficient information on in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that there was no evidence linking any of the immediate or contributing causes of his death to his period of active duty service. The Board also found that the PACT Act did not apply in this case as the Veteran served prior to the period when herbicide agents were presumed used.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for cause of death and DIC benefits due to a failure to obtain a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's conditions, including his thyroid cancer and diabetes. The appellant is seeking service connection based on Agent Orange exposure.
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