The Board has determined that additional development is needed for both the cause of death and DIC claims, including obtaining medical records and divorce documents.
The deciding factor: Additional evidence is required to determine if the appellant meets the criteria for surviving spouse status under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318(c).
- Claimed conditions
- Arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 29, 2006
- Citation
- 0608973
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,645 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0608973.
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 finds that there is a question of fact regarding whether an effective date prior to December 26, 2007, for the grant of DIC benefits is warranted. The case is being remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected, and the Board denied entitlement to Special Monthly Pension based on need for aid and attendance or being housebound.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was not due to willful misconduct and he did not meet the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318, as his death was not caused by a service-connected disability.
- Granted
New evidence has been submitted suggesting the Veteran's cause of death was related to his service exposure to Agent Orange. The claim for service connection is being readjudicated.
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