The Veteran's death was not due to service-connected conditions, and the cause of death is metabolic acidosis. The appellant seeks service connection for the cause of death.,The appellant also seeks burial benefits which are dependent on the outcome of the service connection claim.
The deciding factor: Further medical opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's service-connected right shoulder disability contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- metabolic acidosis, chronic renal failure, hypoperfusion syndrome, respiratory failure
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19110804
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,680 · Granted: 24% (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 19110804.
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 causes of death were not found to be service-connected, as there was no credible evidence linking the conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, including hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II, are presumed to be related to his service in the Republic of Vietnam. The Board has granted service connection for these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was respiratory failure caused by hepatic failure, hepatocellular cancer, and chronic hepatitis C infection.,Service connection for the cause of death is granted as his alcohol and substance abuse were secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the severance of service connected death benefits was improper and grants the appeal.
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