The Board has remanded the case due to uncertainty about whether the Veteran's metabolic encephalopathy is related to his service, including exposure to herbicides and other chemicals/exposures identified in the claims file.
The deciding factor: The Board found that an opinion on the cause of death would be helpful given the presumed exposure to herbicide agents (Agent Orange).
- Claimed conditions
- metabolic encephalopathy
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20023936
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 20023936.
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 claims for service connection for the cause of death and burial benefits due to a lack of medical opinion regarding the Veteran's exposure at Camp Lejeune, which could impact his eligibility for these benefits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty-to-assist error in not obtaining a medical opinion regarding whether there is a relationship between the Veteran's cause of death, metabolic encephalopathy, and his in-service history of abnormal glucose level or diabetes.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic esophageal cancer with metabolic encephalopathy, is not related to his military service and therefore the claim for service connection for the cause of death is denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, metabolic encephalopathy, was not related to his military service and there is no evidence linking it to exposure to herbicides. The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
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