The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for cause of death and DIC benefits due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error. The AOJ is instructed to develop the Veteran's potential exposures in service, including exposure to asbestos, jet fuel, herbicide agents, and possible radiation-risk activities. Medical opinions are needed regarding the relationship between the Veteran's conditions and his active service or service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board found a pre-decisional duty to assist error due to incomplete service treatment records and did not fully develop the Veteran's exposures in service.
- Claimed conditions
- adenocarcinoma of the cecum, adenoacarcinoma of the lung, cerebrovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 23, 2026
- Citation
- A26015874
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 A26015874.
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 is remanding the claim for service connection of the Veteran's cause of death due to a predecisional duty to assist error in not obtaining relevant medical records from the state veteran's home.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including cerebrovascular disease, depression, hepatitis C, irregular heartbeat, and a heart disorder, to obtain additional medical evidence regarding their etiology.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's death, finding no evidence that his prostate cancer, heart disease, or cerebrovascular disease were related to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for cerebrovascular disease, including as due to herbicide agent exposure or as secondary to his service-connected diabetes mellitus, type II, is remanded. The Board notes the duty-to-assist error in not considering VA treatment records and requires a new opinion on whether the Veteran's stroke residuals are related to herbicide agents or any other toxic exposure risk activity (TERA).
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