The Board has remanded the case for a VA medical opinion to determine if the veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder contributed to his cause of death.
The deciding factor: The examiner must address whether it is at least as likely as not that the veteran's service-connected acquired psychiatric disorder contributed substantially or materially to cause death, combined to cause death, or aided in producing death.
- Claimed conditions
- schizophrenic reaction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 26, 2008
- Citation
- 0840885
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 0840885.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, which was related to his schizophrenia that began during service. The Board found that this disability substantially contributed to the Veteran's untimely death by suicide.
- Granted
The Board found that the May 1988 rating decision incorrectly applied presumptive service connection for a psychotic disorder, leading to a grant of service connection for schizophrenic reaction.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of VA examination in connection with the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and their impact on his eligibility for specially adapted housing or special home adaptation grant.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for a rating higher than 50 percent for service-connected schizophrenic reaction, entitlement to SMC based on a need for aid and attendance, and TDIU due to service-connected disabilities. The remand is necessary to obtain retrospective VA medical opinions regarding the severity of the Veteran's service-connected schizophrenia from March 2000 until his death in November 2009.
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