The Veteran's death was due to multiple organ failure, including heart and respiratory conditions. The Board has ordered additional medical opinions and records review to determine the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA physician needs to provide an opinion on whether the fatal conditions listed on the death certificate are related to service or any incident therein.
- Claimed conditions
- multisystem organ failure, severe congestive heart failure (CHF), hypoxic and hypercarbic respiratory failure, anoxic brain injury, severe ischemic cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 8, 2022
- Citation
- 22013055
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 22013055.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for muscle weakness, anoxic brain injury, heart failure, and dysphagia as secondary to respiratory failure with hypoxia, and denied special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance or housebound status.
- Granted
The Veteran's death is service-connected due to cardiac ischemia, which is linked to herbicide exposure during service. The appeal for service connection for cause of death is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the claims for service connection for cause of death and entitlement to DIC due to inadequate medical examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding the cause of death and negligence in treatment. The Veteran's cause of death is being reviewed for potential service connection under new evidence.
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