The Veteran's death was caused by his service-connected conditions, which put additional strain on his body and resulted in his untimely death. The Board is remanding the case for further development to obtain an addendum opinion regarding the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address all theories advanced in support of the DIC claim, including failures to provide timely antibiotics for a UTI, proper evaluation after head injury due to low platelet count, and necessity of autopsy.
- Claimed conditions
- Status post right hip replacement, Low back condition to include residuals of sacral fracture, residuals of pelvic fracture, Arthritis of the left hip associated with residuals of pelvic fracture, Residuals of skull fracture
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2014
- Citation
- 1449390
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 1449390.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for a TDIU as her combined disability rating is at least 70 percent, but she cannot secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to her PTSD and other service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted the veteran's claim for an effective date of June 7, 2004, for service connection of complex partial seizures, residuals of skull fracture, and pseudo-seizures with a 100% evaluation.
- Denied
The appellant's service-connected right hip and left knee disabilities do not render him unemployable due to their severity alone, as he has other nonservice-connected conditions that significantly affect his employability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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