The Board has remanded the case due to the inextricably intertwined nature of the claims for service connection for the cause of death and an undiagnosed illness for accrued benefits purposes. The claim for service connection for the cause of death is being remanded for readjudication.
The deciding factor: The claims are inextricably intertwined, as adjudicating one requires consideration of the other.
- Claimed conditions
- cause of death (not specified)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20045936
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 20045936.
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 has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions and incomplete records. The Veteran's death is being reviewed for potential VA fault, but no new evidence or opinion was provided in this decision.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cause of the Veteran's death on the merits in November 2009. The appellant submitted new evidence, but it did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim and does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that no new and material evidence had been submitted to reopen the claim. The March 1994 decision was based on a lack of evidence relating the Veteran's fatal conditions to active service or his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the case for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and Social Security Administration (SSA) records. The claims on appeal will be readjudicated after these actions.
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