The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient consideration of the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents, and a new etiology opinion is required.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents and its relation to his fatal conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiac cirrhosis, liver failure
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2021
- Citation
- 21004836
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 21004836.
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 Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and therefore his surviving spouse is denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of his death.
- Granted
The Veteran's non-VA emergency medical expenses incurred on February 14, 2024 are granted as the treatment was for an emergent condition (jaundice) and a VA facility was not feasibly available.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim for entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as the evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's heart condition, liver condition, or hepatitis C began during active service or were otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and its relation to service, particularly given the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents in Thailand. The AOJ is instructed to obtain an Individual Longitudinal Exposure Record (ILER) for the Veteran and a toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) memorandum.
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