The Board has decided that the claims pending at the time of the Veteran's death need to be addressed again, including his service connection claim for renal disease and his claim to reopen service connection for obesity. The decision on these issues will impact the claims for accrued benefits and death pension.
The deciding factor: The claims are inextricably intertwined with the claims pending at the time of the Veteran's death, specifically regarding his cause of death and entitlement to death pension.
- Claimed conditions
- renal disease, obesity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 4, 2018
- Citation
- 18155537
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 18155537.
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 DIC claim is denied because the Veteran was not rated totally disabled for a continuous period of at least 10 years immediately preceding his death. The service connection issue is remanded due to duty to assist error.
- Granted
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II, is granted on a secondary basis with obesity serving as an intermediate step due to service-connected low back disability, sciatica, and right shoulder disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases due to issues with the effective date for service connection and will consider new evidence submitted by the Veteran.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obesity and obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected back, left hip, left knee and left lower extremity radiculopathy disabilities.
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