The Board has determined that a VA opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's service-connected residuals of thrombophlebitis of the left leg contributed substantially or materially to his death, and whether it was proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The evidence suggests that the Veteran’s service-connected disability may have contributed to his death but the extent is unclear.
- Claimed conditions
- Complications of advanced dementia, Diabetes mellitus, Cerebral vascular disease, Coronary artery disease, Dysphagia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19127883
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,374 · 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 19127883.
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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The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of ambulance travel expenses incurred on June 17, 2025 due to an emergency heart attack. The ambulance service was provided by a volunteer organization and later intercepted by a higher-tier EMT company.
- Denied
The Board denied a compensable rating for the Veteran's GERD with hiatal hernia and dysphagia, finding that there was no documented history of esophageal stricture requiring daily medications to control dysphagia.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD has prevented him from securing or following substantially gainful employment since September 27, 2010. Additionally, he is in receipt of a 60 percent disability rating for coronary artery disease, which meets the criteria for SMC at the housebound rate.
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