The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions and missing records, particularly regarding the Veteran's perforated duodenal ulcer and his death. The VA needs to obtain additional medical records and provide a medical opinion on whether type II diabetes caused or contributed to the Veteran's death, and if any of these elements resulted in him being considered a poor surgical candidate.
The deciding factor: The decision is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of the Veteran's death and his service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- cardio respiratory arrest, sepsis, hemorrhage, perforated duodenal ulcer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 7, 2020
- Citation
- 20000599
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for cause of death and dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) benefits due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error regarding the appeal for service connection for cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for cause of death to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error related to the Veteran's exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 due to an inadequate medical opinion and a need for additional development regarding potential exposures during service.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as sepsis and liver disease were not shown to be related to his service or any incident during it.
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