The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient consideration of a VA medical opinion regarding the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The decision is based on the need for a VA medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's cause of death was related to service, including exposure at high altitude.
- Claimed conditions
- pulmonary thromboembolism, deep vein thrombosis of lower extremity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20066716
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,548 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20066716.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development and opinion regarding the Veteran's claimed pulmonary disabilities, including whether they are related to service or PTSD.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient compliance with previous remand directives and the need for additional opinions regarding the etiology of the Veteran's pulmonary disability.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding that his bilateral knee disabilities contributed to his wheelchair use and ultimately led to a pulmonary embolism resulting in his death. The decision is based on the benefit of doubt.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a VA Gulf War examination to determine if any identified pulmonary disability and/or respiratory disability are medically unexplained chronic multisymptom illnesses (MUCMI) or related to service, including exposure to Gulf War environmental hazards.
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