The Board has determined that a VA opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's service-connected PTSD contributed to his death due to acute combined drug and ethanol toxicity.
The deciding factor: There is insufficient competent medical evidence of record to make a decision on the claim, and the Board finds remand is warranted so that a VA opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death may be obtained.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive cardiovascular disease, acute combined drug and ethanol toxicity
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2022
- Citation
- 22016044
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 22016044.
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 hypertension is related to herbicide exposure during service and contributed substantially to his cause of death.,Service connection for both hypertension and the cause of death (hypertensive cardiovascular disease) is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to VA DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a need for further evaluation regarding the relationship between any identified pulmonary/respiratory disability, including bronchial asthma, and active service.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for the cause of death and remanded the issue of a compensable disability rating for bilateral defective hearing.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the cause of the Veteran's death is related to his service-connected disabilities, but further medical opinion is needed to determine if these conditions contributed substantially or materially to his death.
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