The Board has found that additional development is required before the claims on appeal are decided, as a supplemental VA medical opinion was inadequate. The examiner should provide an addendum opinion addressing whether the Veteran's cause of death was etiologically related to medication prescribed for service-connected disabilities and if it was due to carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the previous medical opinion was inadequate as it did not address the deficiency found in the prior opinion and did not specify what the standard of care was and did not discuss the medications prescribed to the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- cause of death
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19146368
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a clarifying opinion on whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused his death through obesity as an intermediate step.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for cause of death due to a need for additional evidence, specifically an autopsy report and a medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, to include as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation, due to lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for cause of death due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error and the need for a VA medical opinion.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.