The Veteran's claims for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and a duodenal ulcer disease have been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran. The case is REMANDED for further development on the issue of substitution.
The deciding factor: The Veteran has died, and his wife filed a VA Form 21-534 as both a claim for accrued benefits and a substitution request. The proper course at this juncture is to remand the claims for further development on the issue of substitution.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder, personality disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 10, 2014
- Citation
- 1449954
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 1449954.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for specially-adapted housing assistance and a special home adaptation grant was denied because he does not meet the criteria for either benefit based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and major depressive disorder, is being remanded due to the need for additional development regarding his alleged stressors.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder has been dismissed as the appellant requested withdrawal of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's service connection claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, should be remanded due to a failure to verify a stressor related to the death of his two best friends in Iraq. The AOJ needs to develop this stressor.
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