The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the cause of the Veteran's death and whether his service-connected disabilities contributed substantially or materially to it. The appellant must provide any outstanding private treatment records, including those from North Shore University Hospital at Southside and a nursing home where the Veteran received care after being discharged from the hospital.
The deciding factor: The Board needs additional medical opinions regarding the cause of death and whether service-connected disabilities contributed substantially or materially to it due to inadequacies in the previous VA opinion and unsupported assertions by the private physician who issued the Veteran's death certificate.
- Claimed conditions
- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Chronic Bronchitis, Lumbosacral Spine Degenerative Disease, Internal Derangement of the Right Knee, Hemorrhoids, Right Elbow Lipoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 2, 2017
- Citation
- 1719648
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 1719648.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeal for an increased evaluation of his hemorrhoids, so the case is dismissed.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for separate ratings for chronic bronchitis and obstructive sleep apnea is denied as the disabilities are rated under different diagnostic codes and cannot be combined.
- Granted
The Veteran's asthma with chronic bronchitis is rated at a 30 percent rating, effective from the date of this decision.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for her service-connected hemorrhoids was denied as the evidence did not show large or thrombotic, irreducible hemorrhoids with excessive redundant tissue, evidencing frequent recurrence.
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