Citation Nr: 18147592
Decision Date: 11/05/18	Archive Date: 11/05/18

DOCKET NO. 07-39 738
DATE:	November 5, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran had active service from September 1945 to August 1946 in the United States Navy and from November 1950 to November 1952 in the United States Army.  Unfortunately, the Veteran died in September 1985.  The Appellant is the Veteran’s surviving spouse. 
This matter initially came before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a May 2006 rating decision issued by a of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  
The Board reopened the claim for service connection for the Veteran’s cause of death and remanded the case in December 2010.  The Board again remanded for further development in January 2013.  In June 2017, the Board issued a decision denying the Appellant’s claim for service connection for the Veteran’s cause of death.  The Appellant appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC), and the Court pursuant to an April 2018 Order vacated the June 2017 Board decision and granted a March 2018 Joint Motion for Remand (JMR).  This matter is now before the Board for further consideration.  
The Veteran previously waived her right to a hearing before the Board in her December 2007 substantive appeal, via a VA Form 9.  
Entitlement to service connection for cause of death is remanded.
Consistent with the findings of the March 2018 JMR, remand for further development is necessary.
The March 2018 JMR was based on the Board’s failure to discuss VA’s duty to assist in the context of language found in a February 2011 VA medical opinion.  Specifically, the examiner concluded that it was less likely than not that the Veteran’s cause of death was due to asbestos exposure.  However, in the rationale, the examiner, in pertinent part, reported that “[a] review of the histology reports of the autopsy to look for any mention of asbestos bodies would be warranted” to ensure for certain that the left upper lobe adenocarcinoma was not caused by asbestos exposure.  Thus, here, the Board finds that a remand is warranted for VA to attempt to obtain these histology records and to obtain an addendum VA medical opinion as to the Veteran’s cause of death in this regard.  
The Board notes that the Appellant previously asserted that the Veteran may have been exposed to ionization radiation during service; however, she withdrew this contention in a December 2015 statement.  Thus, this contention does not need to be addressed by the RO on remand.      
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Contact the Appellant and request she submit any histology or additional imaging reports from the September 1985 autopsy or any histology or additional imaging reports from before the Veteran’s death.  
If she does not have copies of these records, request that she identify any relevant medical providers and execute the appropriate release forms for VA to request the records.  If these records are unavailable, associate a memorandum to the claims file that details all efforts undertaken to obtain the records and send the appropriate notice to the Appellant in this regard.     
2. After the additional record development is complete, obtain an addendum medical opinion from the previous examiner, if available, to ascertain the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s cause of death, to include as due to asbestos exposure during service based on all available evidence.  If the previous examiner is unavailable, obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician.  
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3.  Thereafter, readjudicate the claim on appeal.
 
S. B. MAYS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	T. Harper, Associate Counsel