The Board has determined that a VA medical opinion is necessary to decide the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. The appellant claims her husband had silent heart attacks in service, and his cervical spine, lumbar spine, and left small toe disabilities may have contributed to his heart disease.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that a VA medical opinion is necessary to determine if any of the Veteran's causes of death are related to his military service or secondary to any service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative disc disease (cervical spine), DDD of the lumbar spine, Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, Sinusitis, Polyps on vocal chords
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 31, 2011
- Citation
- 1132048
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 1132048.
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 Veteran's sinusitis is currently rated at a noncompensable evaluation. The Board has granted a 30 percent evaluation for sinusitis as of February 19, 2021, based on the number and duration of incapacitating episodes requiring antibiotic treatment.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for higher disability ratings in excess of 20 percent for cervical spine and lumbar spine conditions, left knee condition, right knee condition, and sinusitis. The Veteran was granted service connection for chronic laryngeal papillomatosis.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal because the appellant requested to withdraw their appeal.
- Denied
The Veteran's sinusitis was rated as noncompensable for the period prior to December 9, 2024. The Board found that the Veteran did not meet the criteria for a compensable rating based on the severity of his symptoms and lack of incapacitating episodes.
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