The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to new and material evidence. However, the claim is still pending as it needs further consideration after obtaining additional VA treatment records.
The deciding factor: The claim requires additional medical evidence from VA treatment records that may have been overlooked or not yet associated with the file.
- Claimed conditions
- left leg osteomyelitis, hypertensive heart failure
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 24, 2018
- Citation
- 18120738
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 18120738.
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 found that the appellant's spouse did not have a service-connected disability during his lifetime, and therefore could not establish service connection for the cause of death. The claim was also denied for accrued benefits as the appellant filed her claim beyond the one-year time limit.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim to reopen the cause of death due to service connection, finding no new and material evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining SSA records and providing proper notice regarding secondary service connection.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD was reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The appeal is granted as his PTSD is now considered service-connected.
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