The Board has determined that there was a pre-decisional duty to assist error in not obtaining a VA medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected disabilities and his cause of death. The case is being remanded for further action.
The deciding factor: There is evidence of possible hypertension in the STRs, but no medical opinion has been provided to determine if these service-connected conditions were related to the Veteran's cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertensive cardiovascular disease, Morbid obesity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 26, 2023
- Citation
- A23037261
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 A23037261.
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 the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no evidence to support a causal relationship between the Veteran's military service and his death from gastrointestinal bleeding and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for sleep apnea, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities with obesity as an intermediary step.
- Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his opioid use disorder was related to his service-connected disabilities and led to his untimely death.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there was not sufficient evidence to link his death to his military service or any presumptive conditions related to burn pit exposure. The Board also found no evidence linking his hypertension and cardiovascular disease to his military service.
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