The Board has granted the appellant's request for nonservice-connected burial benefits. However, the appeal for service-connected burial benefits is not yet ripe due to pending issues and a need for substitution.
The deciding factor: Pending issues on appeal at the time of the Veteran's death have not been fully addressed in the current decision.
- Claimed conditions
- nonservice-connected death
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20021786
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 20021786.
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 Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, which is a greater benefit than the requested death pension. Therefore, the death pension claim is dismissed.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the claims for death pension benefits and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 as moot because service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death was granted, which provides a greater award.
- Granted
The Veteran's remains were not interred in a national cemetery, so reimbursement of burial transportation expenses is denied. The appellant has been paid the maximum plot or interment allowance available under the pertinent statute and there is no legal basis to award a higher amount, so the appellant's claim for a greater plot or interment allowance is denied. The nonservice-connected burial allowance is granted because the Veteran was in receipt of VA compensation at the time of his death and died while receiving hospice care at a VA medical facility.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's death was found to be nonservice-connected, which means the claim for VA death pension benefits is dismissed.
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