Citation Nr: 21031459 Decision Date: 05/21/21 Archive Date: 05/21/21 DOCKET NO. 18-20 797 DATE: May 21, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for cause of the Veteran's death is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from January 1952 to January 1954. The Veteran died December 27, 1991. The appellant is his surviving spouse. In March 2020, the appellant testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veteran's law judge. A transcript of the hearing is of record. 1. Entitlement to service connection for cause of the Veteran's death is remanded. A November 2015 record indicates that there may be outstanding and relevant Department of Justice records. The appellant applied for benefits from the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) fund administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ). This claim was based on the appellant's statement that the Veteran died of colon cancer. In February 2015, DOJ sent a letter to the claimant explaining that they had reviewed the Veteran's December 1991 treatment records and found no diagosis of colon cancer. The letter explained that the appellant's claim was therefore deficient and could only be cured by submission of certified medical records showing that the Veteran was diagnosed with a condition compensable under RECA. A remand is required to allow VA to request these records. Documents submitted by the appellant appear to show that in November 2015 DOJ paid benefits to the appellant from the RECA fund based on the Veteran's diagnosis of colon cancer. However, the file does not show what additional evidence DOJ received after the February 2015 letter that allowed that claim to be granted. A remand is required to contact DOJ and obtain these records. In January 2021 the Board remanded this claim to obtain a medical opinion. The remand order specified that a VA examiner should determine the nature and etiology of the conditions noted on the Veteran's death certificate, including cardiac arrest, right colectomy, end stage renal disease, diabetes mellitus, and cadaveric renal transplant. The examiner should also determine whether it is at least as likely as not that any of the Veteran's conditions listed on his death certificate are related to his in-service exposure to radiation. A VA examiner's opinion of February 2021 is now of record but did not comply with the requirements of the January 2021 remand order. The VA examiner stated that the Veteran had not been diagnosed with colon cancer, listed the diseases that VA presumes are linked to ionizing radiation exposure, and concluded that the causes of death, as noted on the death certificate, are less likely than not to be caused by the claimed Ionizing Radiation Exposure. Because the examiner did not provide any rationale to support the opinion that none of the non-presumtively service-connected conditions listed on the Veteran's death certificate were related to his service, including in-service exposure to ionazing radiation, the opinion is inadequate to support a decision by the Board. Unfortunately, because there has not been substantial compliance with the Board's previous remand directives regarding the issue of entitlement to service connection for cause of the Veteran's death, another remand is required. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268, 271 (1998). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain the appellant's federal records relating to her claim for benefits from the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) fund administered by the Department of Justice. Document all requests for information as well as all responses in the claims file. 2. Obtain a VA medical opinion to determine the nature and etiology of the conditions noted on the Veteran's death certificate, including cardiac arrest, right colectomy, end of stage renal disease, diabetes mellitus, and cadaveric renal transplant. The examiner is asked to offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that any of the Veteran's conditions listed on his death certificate are related to his exposure to radiation while assigned to the Nevada Test Site at Camp Desert Rock in March 1953. Any opinion expressed should be accompanied by a complete rationale. 3. Readjudicate the appellant's claim. L. M. BARNARD Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Zimmerman, Micah The Board's decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.