The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death due to hypertension, which is presumed to be related to herbicide exposure. The issue of service connection for a kidney condition remains pending and will need to be remanded.
The deciding factor: Hypertension was found to be related to herbicide exposure based on presumptive service connection criteria.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive cardiovascular disease (hypertension), upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20028930
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 20028930.
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 denied service connection for the cause of death due to upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage and chronic ethanol abuse with cirrhosis, as there is no evidence linking these conditions to service.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's terminal cardiogenic shock, severe aortic stenosis, acute kidney injury, and/or acute blood loss secondary to upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage were not related to service or his service-connected conditions. The appellant’s claim for service connection for the cause of death was denied.
- Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's application to reopen his claim for service connection for hypertension and any causally related disability, finding that new and material evidence was not submitted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran's appeal includes claims for service connection for various conditions, including coronary artery disease, angina pectoris, congestive heart failure, hypertension, COPD, gastroesophageal reflux, sarcoidosis cyst of the left adrenal gland, splenic cystic lesion, kidney cystic lesion, organomegaly, spinal cord tumor, spinal injury, foot drop, claw foot, hammertoes, gunshot wound residuals, and nephritis. The appeal is being remanded for additional development.
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