The Board has remanded the case due to a failure of duty to assist, specifically in verifying the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Korea. The Appellant seeks presumptive service connection for the cause of her husband's death based on alleged exposure to Agent Orange.
The deciding factor: There was a failure to verify the Veteran’s in-service exposure to herbicide agents due to insufficient research efforts by VA.
- Claimed conditions
- Arteriosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 25, 2020
- Citation
- A20017526
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 A20017526.
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.
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The Veteran's arteriosclerotic heart disease is rated at 100% effective October 25, 2024. His prostate cancer residuals are rated at 60% effective October 25, 2024.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of ambulance travel expenses incurred on June 17, 2025 due to an emergency heart attack. The ambulance service was provided by a volunteer organization and later intercepted by a higher-tier EMT company.
- Granted
The Board has granted a TDIU effective June 10, 2020 and an SMC based on loss of use of a creative organ effective June 10, 2021. The Veteran's service-connected conditions have prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment since June 10, 2020.
- Granted
The Veteran's bladder cancer residuals, hypothyroidism, and arteriosclerotic heart disease have been granted service connection. The Veteran is rated at a 40% for his bladder cancer residuals.
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