The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death to obtain a more comprehensive VA medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's in-service exposure to herbicide agents and his causes of death.
The deciding factor: The July 2024 VA opinion was found inadequate as it did not sufficiently address whether the Veteran's enlarged prostate contributed substantially or materially to his death, nor did it provide a comprehensive analysis regarding the relationship between service-connected conditions and the Veteran's causes of death.
- Claimed conditions
- rectal cancer with lung metastasis, urosepsis due to recurrent urinary tract infection due to urinary retention, deep vein thrombosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cerebral arterial malformation
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 4, 2025
- Citation
- 25003021
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,432 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 25003021.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the service connection claims for deep vein thrombosis and hypothyroidism due to insufficient VA medical opinions.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for TDIU prior to October 18, 2018 due to a lack of evidence showing that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
- Granted
The Veteran's emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other spontaneous pneumothorax status post thoracotomy is rated as 100% disabling since February 28, 2024. His major depressive disorder is separately rated at 70%. The Board finds that the Veteran meets the criteria for special monthly compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s) due to his service-connected disabilities.
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