The Board has found the appeal remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of the Veteran's death and its relationship to service-connected conditions. The RO should obtain a medical opinion to determine if any service-connected disability is related to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was not enough evidence to establish whether any service-connected condition contributed to the Veteran's death, necessitating further investigation through a VA medical opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertensive cardiovascular disease, morbid obesity
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2024
- Citation
- 24031555
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 24031555.
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 a need for further medical examination and opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's obstructive sleep apnea and his service, including gas chamber training, as well as any aggravation of the condition by other service-connected disabilities.
- 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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, finding that it is related to the Veteran's service-connected musculoskeletal disabilities and morbid obesity.
- 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.
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