The Board has decided to remand the DIC and accrued benefits claims due to a lack of medical opinion regarding the cause of death, incomplete record development, and need for issuance of a Statement of the Case on accrued benefits.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is insufficient evidence to determine if the Veteran's military service contributed to his cause of death, which requires further development including obtaining additional medical records and a VA medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- prostate adenocarcinoma, rectal cancer, ulcerative colitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19162616
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 19162616.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted a 30 percent rating for ulcerative colitis, finding that the Veteran's symptoms most closely approximate moderately severe ulcerative colitis with frequent exacerbations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of ulcerative colitis to address whether it is secondary to a service-connected disability.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no evidence linking rectal cancer to his active military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board granted a request to readjudicate the claim of service connection for ulcerative colitis based on new and relevant evidence, but remanded the issue for further development.
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