The Veteran's cause of death was congestive heart failure due to or as a consequence of COPD. The Board is remanding the case for additional development, including obtaining home hospice care records and providing an opinion on whether service-connected disabilities contributed substantially or materially to his death.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address the Veteran's May 1949 in-service treatment for trouble breathing, which may have been related to his COPD. The Board is seeking additional medical opinions to determine if service-connected disabilities caused or contributed to the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- Postoperative laminectomy with spinal fusion, Bilateral hearing loss, Tinnitus, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Congestive heart failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 5, 2015
- Citation
- 1524038
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 1524038.
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 Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a low back disorder was reopened, and his claims for increased ratings of bilateral knee instability were granted. His hearing loss claim was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher rating for PTSD and dismissed his appeals regarding increased ratings for tinnitus and a right hand disability due to lack of timely filing of Notice of Disagreement.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his myocardial infarction and COPD to his military service.
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