The Board is remanding the case for additional development to ensure all relevant medical records are obtained and considered, including terminal hospital records from the Hendricks Medical Center. The appellant's claims for service connection for cause of death and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation will be reconsidered based on this new evidence.
The deciding factor: The Board needs to obtain all relevant medical records, particularly those from the veteran's terminal hospitalization, to properly assess his condition and determine if it is related to service or other factors.
- Claimed conditions
- peptic ulcer disease, squamous cell carcinoma of right lower lobe, diverticular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 27, 2004
- Citation
- 0405502
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 0405502.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for peptic ulcer disease and denied service connection for a low back disability, with some issues remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, as well as remanded several other claims for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a gastrointestinal condition and entitlement to TDIU due to missing or destroyed service treatment records, requiring additional development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for peptic ulcer disease and pelvic congestion syndrome, and assigned initial ratings of 70%, 30%, 60%, 30%, 40%, and 10% for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), dermatitis, migraines, lumbosacral strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy respectively. The Board remanded the claim of an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for costochondritis.
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