The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's death was caused by Agent Orange exposure and if any pre-existing conditions contributed to his death. The DIC benefits claim is also remanded.
The deciding factor: Insufficient VA examination provided no analysis on the relationship between the cause of death and military service, including Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiopulmonary arrest, acute on chronic ventilator, respiratory failure with pulmonary fibrosis, encephalopathy, meningitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 9, 2021
- Citation
- 21013445
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 21013445.
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 case due to a duty to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death was linked to his service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Denied
The Board has denied the claims for service connection for encephalopathy and female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) as there is no persuasive evidence of current diagnoses or a link to service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that there was no evidence linking any of the immediate or contributing causes of his death to his period of active duty service. The Board also found that the PACT Act did not apply in this case as the Veteran served prior to the period when herbicide agents were presumed used.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea and whether it is secondary to his service-connected cluster headaches or meningitis.
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