The Veteran's cause of death and burial benefits claims are being remanded due to the need for further development regarding substitution as the appellant is seeking to continue his pending service connection claims.
The deciding factor: Substitution was not requested by the appellant, but an appeal was pending before the Veteran’s death. The AOJ needs to determine if the appellant is eligible to substitute and notify them of any decision.
- Claimed conditions
- traumatic brain injury, melanoma of lymph nodes, diabetes mellitus, depression, ischemic heart disease, backache residuals, stiff neck residuals, end stage renal failure
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19161815
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 19161815.
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 service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder to ensure a proper examination and etiology opinion are provided.
- Partly granted
The Board grants service connection for tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's tinnitus began during his period of active duty service. The claims for ischemic heart disease, aortic valve replacement, status post aortic stenosis, and peripheral vascular disease with popliteal aneurysm are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for traumatic brain injury has been withdrawn by the Veteran.
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