The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for a medical opinion regarding the cause of death and because relevant treatment records from Washington Adventist Hospital have not been obtained.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including diabetes and prostate cancer, may have contributed to his death. The examiner must consider these conditions as potential contributory causes in their decision.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2020
- Citation
- 20006231
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 prostate cancer and related disabilities, urinary incontinence, sleep apnea, hypertension, varicose veins, lumbar spine disability, hip arthritis, shoulder arthritis, ankle arthritis, knee strain, knee replacement, and hand arthritis. The only condition granted was a 10 percent rating for a fracture of the right proximal first metacarpal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for prostate cancer, related to in-service exposures at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran is granted an effective date of April 25, 2014, for service connection for prostate cancer.
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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.