The Board has decided to remand the case due to the unavailability of service treatment records, which may contain information relevant to the cause of death.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the cause of death cannot be determined without access to the Veteran's service treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral acute ischemic strokes, intracranial hemorrhage, metastatic melanoma to the brain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 22, 2018
- Citation
- 18128507
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 18128507.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to new evidence received after a previous Supplemental Statement of the Case. The issues include the cause of death, intracranial hemorrhage, acquired psychiatric disorder (likely PTSD), diabetes mellitus, low back disorder, hypertension, and eye disorder.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, intracranial hemorrhage with metastatic colon cancer as a contributing cause, is found to be service-connected.,Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is denied due to the Veteran not meeting the criteria for total disability ratings.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for stroke residuals and entitlement to a TDIU due to conflicting evidence regarding whether the Veteran's hypertension, presumed due to herbicide exposure, caused his stroke. The AOJ is instructed to investigate this issue further.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for intracranial hemorrhage, thrombosis, TIA, and cerebral infarction. The issue of service connection for obstructive hydrocephalus is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination.
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