The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities contributed substantially or materially to his death. The VA is instructed to obtain a new opinion from an appropriate examiner.
The deciding factor: The previous medical opinions were found to be inadequate and did not address the contributory causes of death as requested by the Board in its remand directives.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes, coronary artery disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19180900
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, left eye diabetic retinopathy, left foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease, as well as the Veteran's cause of death.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for various conditions were dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
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