The Veteran's cause of death is being remanded due to a duty to assist error regarding his service-connected heart condition and other disabilities. The Board will seek a medical opinion on whether these conditions contributed to the Veteran's respiratory failure.
The deciding factor: A medical opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's service-connected heart condition, along with other disabilities, contributed to his cause of death (acute hypoxemic respiratory failure due to or as a consequence of COVID-19 pneumonia).
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease with supraventricular arrhythmia, residuals of right shoulder dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2024
- Citation
- A24014609
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 A24014609.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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