The Board is remanding the case to determine if any service-connected disabilities contributed to or caused the Veteran's cause of death, which was due to gangrene and sepsis.
The deciding factor: The examiner must provide an opinion on whether any service-connected disabilities contributed substantially or materially to cause death, combined to cause death, or aided in producing death.
- Claimed conditions
- gangrene, sepsis, peripheral vascular disease, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 16, 2018
- Citation
- 18102904
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 18102904.
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 cause of death, kidney cancer, is not service-connected. The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service or a service-connected disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic lung cancer, was found to be related to service and caused or contributed substantially to the Veteran's death. The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's peripheral vascular disease is being remanded due to a duty to assist error, and an addendum opinion is needed to determine if the condition is related to service or his service-connected CAD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II (DM) and coronary artery disease (CAD), finding that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during his active duty at Fort McClellan. The Board also found support for secondary service connection for diabetic neuropathy of various extremities, peripheral vascular disease, and gastroparesis as secondary to DM.
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