The Board has determined that the appellant's claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death must be remanded due to incomplete notification and missing medical records. The VA will need to provide proper VCAA notice, obtain terminal hospital reports, and seek a medical opinion regarding whether any fatal cardiovascular or pulmonary disorder had its onset during the Veteran's period of military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the appellant was not provided with adequate VCAA notification as required by Hupp v. Nicholson (2007), and that VA records are incomplete, including terminal hospital reports from James Memorial Hospital. Additionally, a medical opinion is needed to determine if any fatal cardiovascular or pulmonary disorder had its onset during the Veteran's period of military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute cardiopulmonary arrest, Probable acute myocardial infarction, Liver cirrhosis due to hepatitis C, Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, Ascites
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2009
- Citation
- 0947559
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0947559.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a failure to conduct a thorough review of the Veteran's service records regarding potential in-service asbestos exposure. The claim will be reconsidered with this information.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error and insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death. The Veteran's causes of death are being reviewed, including consideration of probative medical research submitted by the Appellant.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not service-connected, and there is no evidence linking his cause of death to any in-service conditions or exposure. The Board found insufficient medical evidence to support a connection between the Veteran's asbestos exposure and his brain cancer.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death (hepatitis C) and related conditions, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between these conditions and his military service.,Service connection was also denied for hepatitis C, cirrhosis of the liver, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, and thrombocytopenia, as the medical opinions found no causal relationship with service.
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