The Board has decided that the cause of death was not caused by service-connected conditions, and remands the case for further development to obtain medical opinions on potential causes.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions are needed to determine if the Veteran's dilated cardiomyopathy is related to his military service or any service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- dilated cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19132774
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 Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as the evidence did not show that the causes of his death were related to service or a service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's heart disorder and his military service, as well as whether it is related to or aggravated by his service-connected asbestosis.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for service connection for dilated cardiomyopathy secondary to sarcoidosis has been dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development regarding service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, including a VA medical opinion to address whether the service-connected back disability contributed substantially or materially to the Veteran's death.
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