The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's death was caused by asbestos exposure during service. The VA is required to obtain medical records from identified private physicians and provide an opinion on the cause of death.
The deciding factor: There is insufficient competent medical evidence to determine if any immediate or contributory causes of the Veteran’s death were related to his in-service asbestos exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute myocardial infarction, Acute respiratory failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20027238
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 20027238.
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.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death due to acute respiratory failure and subdural hematoma, finding that no service-connected disability contributed substantially or materially to his death. The Veteran served in Vietnam but there is no evidence of a service-connected condition related to Agent Orange exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death (acute respiratory failure, atrial fibrillation, and/or hypertension) is related to his active duty service, including from exposure to toxins and chemicals from open burn pits during the harsh winters in Korea. The Board finds a pre-decisional duty to assist error and remands for obtaining a VA medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran died due to an acute myocardial infarction. The Board has identified errors in the toxic exposure documentation and requests a remand for further investigation and medical opinion regarding the cause of death.
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