The Board has remanded the claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § § 1151 due to a duty to assist error in the March 2016 VA examiner's opinion, which was not based on an accurate factual basis and did not adequately discuss important aspects of this matter.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the March 2016 VA examiner’s opinion is inadequate and remanded for a new addendum opinion to address whether the Veteran's anastomotic leak in January 2005 was caused by hospital care, medical or surgical treatment, or examination furnished by VA.
- Claimed conditions
- anastomotic leak, hernia, inguinal (residual of anastomotic leak), inflammatory bowel disease (residual of anastomotic leak), small intestine bacteria overgrowth (residual of anastomotic leak)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 29, 2019
- Citation
- A19001050
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,592 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 A19001050.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's new or additional disabilities, including diverticulitis and anastomotic leak complications, were caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA during his June 1, 2010 sigmoidectomy at Huntington VAMC. The Board found that these disabilities were proximately caused by VA treatment and granted compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151.
- Granted
The Veteran's additional disabilities, including anastomotic leak, intrabdominal abscess, and stoma wound dehiscence, were caused by the January 2009 VA surgery and aftercare. The Board grants benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to insufficient evidence from Duke University Health System, which is a private provider.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case to obtain a medical opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death, specifically whether any peritoneal adhesions and intestinal obstruction from the surgery in 1954 are related to one of the causes listed on his death certificate (ulcer disease during service).
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