The Board has remanded the case due to a failure to ensure VA satisfied its duty to assist in obtaining records related to the Veteran's service at the Korean DMZ. The issue of whether the Veteran's death was caused by his active service, including herbicide exposure, is now pending.
The deciding factor: The Board found that VA did not make a finding that further efforts to obtain verification of the claimed herbicide exposure near the Korean DMZ would be futile and failed to address the issue of direct causation (as to herbicide exposure at the Korean DMZ).
- Claimed conditions
- sepsis, typhlitis, acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 2, 2022
- Citation
- 22012162
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 22012162.
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 cause of death, kidney cancer, is not service-connected. The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service or a service-connected disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic lung cancer, was found to be related to service and caused or contributed substantially to the Veteran's death. The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for extreme fatigue, difficulty breathing, sepsis, and urinary tract infection due to incomplete records and a need for additional medical opinions.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, sepsis and acute myeloid leukemia with toxic encephalopathy, was not caused by or related to his military service. The Board found that the available evidence did not show a nexus between the Veteran's exposure to toxins or herbicides and his death.
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