The Veteran's cause of death is remanded due to insufficient medical evidence on the relationship between service-connected conditions and his death. The Board requires a VA medical opinion to determine if any service-connected condition contributed to his death.
The deciding factor: Insufficient medical evidence exists to evaluate whether any service-connected condition contributed to the Veteran’s death.
- Claimed conditions
- Respiratory failure, Pneumonia, Congestive heart failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19178256
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 various conditions, including diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, asthma/lung disease, vision disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, leukocytosis, kidney disease/kidney stones, enlarged prostate, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis, lumbar spine disability, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a cardiovascular disability, secondary to hypertension, but denied a compensable rating and an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- 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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