The Board has remanded the case for further development due to inadequate opinion from the independent medical expert (IME) and failure to address certain bases that could lead to service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The IME was not instructed to address all possible bases, including the Veteran's service treatment records showing a diagnosis of a gonococcus infection of the urethra and post-service medical records documenting complaints of hematuria.
- Claimed conditions
- Bladder Cancer, Dementia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 19, 2011
- Citation
- 1138892
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 1138892.
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 PTSD with cognitive impairment or dementia was rated at 50 percent from July 11, 2005 to March 4, 2021. From March 4, 2021, the Veteran's condition was rated at 100 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder and exposures at Camp LeJeune contributed to his cause of death. The VA must obtain an addendum opinion addressing these issues.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension was granted a 10 percent rating for the period prior to August 10, 2022. The Veteran's bladder cancer received a 100 percent rating from March 7, 2018 until September 8, 2018.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection for cause of death.
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