The Board has decided to remand the case for further development, including obtaining National Guard service treatment and personnel records, verifying duty status, and determining if the Veteran was exposed to asbestos during his National Guard service. If exposure is confirmed, a VA clinician will be asked to determine whether it is at least as likely as not that the cause of death (cardiac exhaustion due to complications of COPD, asbestosis, and coronary artery disease) was caused by exposure to asbestos.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was insufficient evidence to establish service connection for the Veteran's cause of death based on in-service asbestos exposure. The case is being remanded to obtain additional records and determine if the Veteran had any periods of active duty for training (ACDUTRA) or inactive duty for training (INACDUTRA) during his National Guard service, which could have exposed him to asbestos.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiac exhaustion, complications of COPD, asbestosis, coronary artery disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2019
- Citation
- 19128095
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, left eye diabetic retinopathy, left foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease, as well as the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for coronary artery disease to correct duty to assist errors, as there are no adequate medical opinions of record.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected coronary artery disease, vascular headaches, and cerebrovascular accident with left eye vision problem rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment from April 1, 2015 to May 28, 2018.
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