The Board has decided to remand the case due to inadequate medical opinions regarding the cause of the Veteran's death. The VA needs to obtain a new opinion from a qualified physician to determine if any conditions, individually or in concert, contributed to the Veteran’s death.
The deciding factor: The previous medical opinions were insufficient as they did not identify specific conditions that led to the Veteran’s multiple organ failure or materially contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Multiple organ failure, Frontal lobe dementia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2020
- Citation
- 20077723
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 20077723.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by multiple organ failure, which the Board found to be related to service-connected liver disease and other conditions. Service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development, including obtaining a VA medical opinion regarding the cause of death and whether peptic ulcer is related to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the cause of the Veteran's death was acute respiratory distress syndrome due to, or as a consequence of, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; pneumonia; and multiple organ failure. The appellant seeks service connection for the cause of her husband's death, but the VA examiner found no causal relationship between his service-connected conditions and his death. She also presented an alternative theory that his death was due to Agent Orange exposure. The Board has ordered additional records from SSA and Integris Baptist Medical Center.
- Denied
The Veteran died of multiple causes, including Alzheimer's disease and other chronic conditions. The VA determined that these conditions were not caused or aggravated by his military service.
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