The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence for a VA opinion on whether the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss contributed substantially or materially to his death, and whether the Veteran's death was caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of the VA contracted healthcare facility.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the April 2020 VA opinion is inadequate as it did not consider the Appellant and her daughter's testimony, nor the submitted medical research. The examiner also declined to provide an opinion regarding abuse allegations spanning many years without a full investigation.
- Claimed conditions
- dementia, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20046467
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 20046467.
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 Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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