The Veteran's death was not service-connected, and the Board has ordered a new medical opinion to determine if his conditions are related to his military service.
The deciding factor: A new medical opinion is needed to determine the cause of the Veteran’s death and whether any service-connected disabilities contributed to it.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic lymphocytic leukemia, neutropenic fever, tumor lysis syndrome, coronary artery disease, COPD, chronic kidney disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19183302
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for chronic kidney disease was dismissed due to the Veteran not timely filing a Notice of Disagreement within one year of the rating decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for COPD, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the Veteran's respiratory condition and his military service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a vitamin D deficiency and remanded claims for coronary artery disease, status post femoral bypass, chronic kidney disease, and anemia due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.