The Board has decided that the Veteran's death may be related to his time aboard a ship in Vietnam, but more evidence is needed to confirm this. The VA will verify if the ship was within Vietnam's territorial sea and obtain deck logs for further review.
The deciding factor: The decision requires verification of whether the ship was within Vietnam's territorial sea where herbicide exposure could have occurred.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatic failure, cholangiocarcinoma, gastrointestinal bleeding
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20004132
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 an initial 50 percent rating for the Veteran's cirrhosis of the liver with portal hypertension, Wilson's disease, gastrointestinal bleeding, and pancreatitis based on a history of one episode of hemorrhage from portal gastropathy.
- 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.
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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.