The Board is remanding the claim for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death to obtain an advisory medical opinion from an independent expert.
The deciding factor: There has not been substantial compliance with previous remand directives, and a more detailed medical opinion is required to address all evidence and arguments presented by the Appellant.
- Claimed conditions
- Adult respiratory distress syndrome, Severe aspiration pneumonia, Recurrent severe hydrocephalus, Coccidiomycotic meningitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2025
- Citation
- 25005581
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 945 · Granted: 43% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 25005581.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to conflicting evidence regarding whether the Veteran's COPD was caused by his herbicide exposure during service. The cause of death determination is also pending.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and its relation to service, particularly Agent Orange exposure. A VA opinion is needed to determine if esophageal cancer was caused by service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not caused or contributed to by his military service, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board found that the evidence submitted since the June 1982 rating decision is not new and material, and thus does not serve to reopen the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.
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