The appeal is remanded due to the need for additional development, including verifying the Veteran's service and obtaining all available service records. The claims of service connection for cause of death, accrued benefits based on a disability rating of 30 percent for MS, and accrued benefits based on service connection for chronic pneumonia as secondary to service-connected MS are also remanded.
The deciding factor: The need for additional development is due to the incomplete record and the requirement to verify the Veteran's service and obtain all available service records.
- Claimed conditions
- pneumonia, multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19138794
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 19138794.
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 pneumonia and remanded the claims for iodine allergy, pilonidal cyst, sulfa allergy, heart disability, acquired psychiatric disorder, and lower and upper extremity disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to an inadequate VA medical opinion and a need for additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's acute hypoxemia, respiratory failure, and pneumonia were related to service or toxic exposure under the PACT Act.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia and an increased rating for asthma, and remanded several other claims including those for heart condition, chronic low back condition, diabetes mellitus type II, GERD, hypertension, and sleep apnea.
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