The Board is remanding the case to obtain additional evidence and a medical opinion regarding whether the cause of the Veteran's death, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), is related to service. The appellant must be given an opportunity to respond before the file is returned to the Board.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner needs to review the claims file in its entirety and determine if there is a possible long incubation period for CJD symptoms, considering the Veteran's foreign service locations and dates.
- Claimed conditions
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2013
- Citation
- 1301545
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 1301545.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a new medical opinion to address whether the Veteran's Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was related to his exposure to contaminated meat while serving in England.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The Veteran's claims for tinnitus, lumbar spine disorder, left knee disorder, and right knee disorder were denied as there was no evidence of a nexus to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder is found to be the primary cause of her insomnia, and she is already in receipt of a 30% rating for anemia. The claims for fibromyalgia, diabetes mellitus type II, radiculopathy and peripheral neuropathy, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and mouth trauma are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to missing medical records and uncorroborated in-service stressors. The VA is instructed to obtain additional records, including from SSA and private providers, and to schedule a PTSD examination if corroborated stressors are found.
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