The Board has determined that the appellant's service connection claims for cardiomyopathy, ventricular arrhythmia, fatigue, and depression need to be remanded due to incomplete verification of his periods of active duty, ACDUTRA, and INACDUTRA. The examiner is requested to provide an opinion on whether any period of ACDUTRA or INACDUTRA aggravated the appellant's claimed disabilities.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the current examination was inadequate as it did not address the question of aggravation by a period of active duty service, specifically the incident in May 2012 when the appellant experienced sudden cardiac arrest and his AICD fired.
- Claimed conditions
- Cardiomyopathy, Ventricular Arrhythmia, Fatigue, Depression
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 7, 2023
- Citation
- 23065115
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 23065115.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient findings regarding PTSD and depression, requiring a new VA examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to errors in the AOJ's handling of the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder, and depression. The AOJ is required to verify the Veteran's claimed stressor and obtain medical opinions regarding the diagnoses and their relation to service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Anxiety, and Depression as these conditions are found to be related to the Veteran's active military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for heart condition was granted with an effective date of August 1, 2019. The decision is based on evidence showing exposure to diesel and gas fuel during service.
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