The Board has remanded the case for a thorough VA examination and opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death, including whether his service-connected conditions contributed to his demise.
The deciding factor: The examiner is requested to provide an opinion on whether the Veteran's fatal encephalopathy had its onset during active service or was related to his documented in-service head trauma and/or encephalitis.
- Claimed conditions
- Encephalopathy, Respiratory failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 3, 2016
- Citation
- 1617673
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 1617673.
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 the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no competent evidence linking any principal or contributory cause of his death to his service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 USC 1318 due to a need for a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's causes of death, considering toxic exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death to consider additional evidence regarding exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Granted
The Board granted the claim for Death and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) based on service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, due to his in-service exposures to herbicides and extreme cold temperatures.
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