The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of the Veteran's death and whether VA negligence in providing medical care contributed to his death. The appellant is seeking service connection for the cause of her husband’s death, which was caused by a combination of diabetes mellitus type II, hypertension, and other conditions related to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board found that additional evidence is needed to determine whether VA negligence in providing medical care contributed to the Veteran's death or if it was due to his pre-existing conditions exacerbated by medication.
- Claimed conditions
- mood disorder (claimed as depressive disorder), post-operative right and left knee arthrotomy, thoracolumbar degenerative changes, traumatic arthritis of the left knee, right and left hip strain, recurrent sprain of the left ankle with degenerative changes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19180705
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,836 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 19180705.
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 Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for thoracolumbar degenerative changes was granted, with a uniform 40 percent rating effective December 10, 2021. The VA initially scheduled the Veteran for a back conditions examination in March 2022 to determine his disability level and assigned him this rating based on his limited range of motion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran and his spouse are not eligible for benefits under the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) due to a lack of evidence showing they need personal care services from another individual. The case is being remanded to allow further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and right and left hip strain. It denied increased ratings for adjustment disorder with disturbances of sleep, emotions, and conduct; migraine headaches including migraine variants; lumbar spine discogenic disc disease with intervertebral disc syndrome; lower extremity radiculopathy; erectile dysfunction; and special monthly compensation based on loss of use of a creative organ.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including unspecified anxiety disorder with insomnia, anorexia, and bulimia, headaches, lumbosacral strain, right and left hip strain, and vertigo, have prevented her from securing and maintaining substantially gainful occupation.
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