The Board remands the claims for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 due to an inadequate medical opinion and a need for additional development regarding potential exposures during service.
The deciding factor: Remand is necessary for an addendum opinion addressing the etiology of the Veteran's cause of death, as well as preparation of a toxic exposure risk activity (TERA) memorandum to verify potential exposures related to his military occupational specialty as a carpentry specialist.
- Claimed conditions
- sepsis, typhlitis, acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2025
- Citation
- 25004815
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 remands the claims for service connection for cause of death and dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) benefits due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding the appeal for service connection for cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for cause of death to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error related to the Veteran's exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as sepsis and liver disease were not shown to be related to his service or any incident during it.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) based on the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Vietnam.
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