The Board has remanded the case for further development, including obtaining medical records and seeking a new VA medical opinion regarding whether the veteran's service-connected disabilities contributed to his death.
The deciding factor: The examiner needs to review all available medical records and provide an informed opinion on the cause of the veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive vascular disease, cervical spine degenerative disc disease, right knee degenerative joint disease, left knee degenerative joint disease, right elbow degenerative joint disease, right spermatocele with epididymitis residuals, right elbow residual scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 16, 2007
- Citation
- 0704629
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 0704629.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to July 1, 2016. The Board found that the evidence did not support a higher rating due to occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity. For TDIU, the Veteran had multiple service-connected disabilities but his education and work experience were sufficient for sedentary or light labor employment.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a VA examination to assess the severity of his left knee disability, including without considering the ameliorative effects of medication.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for right knee degenerative joint disease, including secondary to a service-connected left knee disability, is granted. The condition was not related to military service and no aggravation by the service-connected left knee disability could be established.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities prevented him from engaging in gainful employment as of January 1, 2019. The Board granted a TDIU effective from that date.
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