The Veteran's death was caused by stroke, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. The appellant seeks service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death due to ionizing radiation exposure during military service. However, the Board finds that additional development is needed as there are no records indicating the Veteran participated in atmospheric nuclear testing or had any exposure to ionizing radiation.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not qualify as a 'radiation-exposed veteran' under VA regulations and did not suffer from one of the presumptive conditions listed for radiation-exposure-related diseases. However, his prostate cancer and bladder cancer qualified as radiogenic diseases and manifested in the applicable period following the requisite amount of time post-service.
- Claimed conditions
- Prostate cancer, Bladder cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20065802
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 service connection for bladder cancer, diabetes mellitus, type 2, and an acquired psychiatric disability (unspecified depressive disorder), but denied a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss.
- Granted
The Board restored the Veteran's 100 percent disability rating for his service-connected prostate cancer, effective September 1, 2024.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a higher disability rating for PTSD and granted service connection for lumbosacral strain, while denying service connection for prostate cancer, erectile dysfunction, hypertension, and nuclear sclerosis and dry eye syndrome.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection and higher initial rating were dismissed due to concurrent election of review options.
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