The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether any conditions noted or found to have caused his death, or substantially or materially contributed to his cause of death, are related to service.
The deciding factor: The Board requires an addendum opinion from the May 2018 VA examiner to address whether any condition noted or found to have caused the Veteran's death is related to service, including presumed exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- cachexia, dysphagia with aspiration
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 28, 2023
- Citation
- 23019129
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 23019129.
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 lack of evidence linking the Veteran's carcinoma of the pharynx to his service or a service-connected disability, and there was no indication that the cancer was related to herbicide exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found pre-decisional duty to assist errors and remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for cause of death, DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318, and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to insufficient information in the record.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the Board denied both his claim for service connection for the cause of his death and his DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Granted
The Veteran's cachexia, also claimed as malnutrition, was granted service connection on the basis that it was caused by his service-connected loss of teeth. The rating for his loss of teeth was increased to 40 percent. SMC based on need for aid and attendance (A&A) was granted.
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