The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to determine if the Veteran's cause of death, including cardiac arrest and acute respiratory failure, are related to his active duty service, specifically his exposure to asbestos. The appeal is REMANDED for further review.
The deciding factor: The Board found insufficient evidence to establish a direct relationship between the Veteran’s cause of death and his active duty service, particularly his claimed asbestos exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Cardiac arrest, Acute respiratory failure, Pneumonia, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Multi-organ failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19176294
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed, and the claims for a compensable rating for the lower back scar, service connection for COPD, and peripheral artery disease were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, COPD, a gastrointestinal disability, and migraines due to lack of evidence supporting a link between these conditions and her military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain an adequate opinion regarding the Veteran's cause of death, specifically addressing toxic exposures during service and submitted medical literature.
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