The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development, specifically not obtaining a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran had renal toxicity or hepatic steatosis during his lifetime and if so, whether it caused or contributed to his death. The case is being returned for further action.
The deciding factor: Incomplete development was noted in obtaining a medical opinion regarding the Veteran's condition of renal toxicity or hepatic steatosis and its impact on his death.
- Claimed conditions
- ocular melanoma, cardiomyopathy, atherosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19117797
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,960 · Granted: 36% (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 19117797.
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.
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- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a heart disability, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's heart condition, finding that it is secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for cardiomyopathy and hypertension due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in the April 2025 rating decision. The issues are being remanded for further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician.
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