Citation Nr: 22014296 Decision Date: 03/12/22 Archive Date: 03/12/22 DOCKET NO. 15-41 129A DATE: March 12, 2022 REMANDED Entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) benefits, including service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from June 1967 to June 1969, to include service in the Republic of Vietnam. He died in March 2005. The appellant is the Veteran's surviving spouse. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2005 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). In a November 2015 VA Form 9, the appellant elected to have a hearing before a Veteran's Law Judge. Her hearing was scheduled for December 2021. The appellant failed to appear for the hearing and has not since asked for it to be rescheduled. Accordingly, the hearing request is deemed withdrawn. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.704(d). The cause of the Veteran's death was listed as colon cancer. At the time of death, the Veteran was service connected for total laryngectomy status post squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx with a 100 percent rating. The appellant filed a DIC claim and was subsequently denied as the cause of death, colon cancer, was not service connected. The appellant asserts that the Veteran's service-connected cancer of his larynx caused his colon cancer. See appellant's statement (April 2014). In February 2022, the appellant, through her representative, cited to medical articles indicating that cancer, such as laryngeal cancer, can spread to other areas of the body and that cancer may "come back in the larynx or in other parts of the body." The Federal Circuit has held that the general duty to assist provision, 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (a), rather than the provision specifically addressing when medical examinations are required in compensation claims, 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (d), is applicable to claims for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. Wood v. Peake, 520 F.3d 1345, 1347 (Fed. Cir. 2008); DeLaRosa v. Peake, 515 F.3d 1319, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 2008). While 38 U.S.C. § 5103A (a) does not always require VA to assist a claimant in obtaining a medical examination or assistance, such assistance is required whenever a medical opinion is "necessary to substantiate the claim," and VA is excused from providing such assistance only when "no reasonable possibility exists that such assistance would aid in substantiating the claim." Wood, 520 F.3d at 1348. Based on the assertions of the appellant as well as her submitted medical literature, the Board finds that there is a reasonable possibility that a VA opinion may aid in substantiating the appellant's claim. As such, a remanded needed to obtain a VA opinion. The matter is REMANDED for the following action: Forward the claims file to an appropriate VA examiner to obtain a medical opinion regarding the appellant's claim. After reviewing the claims file, the examiner should provide an opinion, consistent with sound medical judgment, as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's colon cancer had its onset in service or is related to his military service, to include as due to exposure to an herbicide agent. The examiner should also render an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's service-connected total laryngectomy status post squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx caused or materially contributed to his death? The examiner must address the medical articles submitted by the appellant, indicating that laryngeal cancer (one of the Veteran's service-connected disabilities), can spread to other areas of the body and that cancer may "come back in the larynx or in other parts of the body. (Continued on the next page) The examiner is advised that a contributory cause of death is one not related to the principal cause, but one that contributed substantially or materially; that it combined to cause death; that it aided or lent assistance to the production of death. It is not sufficient to show that it causally shared in producing death, but rather it must be shown that there was a causal connection. The examination report should specifically state that a review of the record was conducted. The examiner should provide a complete rationale for all opinions provided. Ashley Castillo Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board T. Jarman, Associate Counsel 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.