The Board remands the claim for service connection of the cause of death to correct duty to assist errors that occurred prior to the May 2020 rating decision on appeal.
The deciding factor: An addendum medical opinion is necessary as the previous opinions did not adequately address the appellant's contentions regarding peripheral vascular disease and diabetes mellitus, type II.
- Claimed conditions
- Peripheral vascular disease, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Ischemic heart disease, Diabetes mellitus, type II, Peripheral neuropathy, Tinnitus, Right ear hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 28, 2025
- Citation
- A25028992
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 20 percent rating for the Veteran's left knee strain, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and service connection for a right ankle disorder. Other claims were denied or remanded.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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