The Board remands the issues of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 due to a duty to assist error regarding obtaining a medical opinion on the etiology of the Veteran's causes of death.
The deciding factor: The Board finds that remand is required to correct a duty to assist error that occurred prior to the rating decision on appeal, specifically, the failure to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's cardiopulmonary arrest and atrial fibrillation were related to his service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- Atrial fibrillation, Cardiopulmonary arrest, consequent to congestive heart failure
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 27, 2025
- Citation
- A25046742
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 878 · Granted: 46% (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 A25046742.
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 claim of entitlement to SMC based on the need for aid and attendance for the Veteran's spouse due to conflicting information in the June 2025 examination. A VA examination is needed to determine if the spouse requires regular aid and attendance.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death (acute respiratory failure, atrial fibrillation, and/or hypertension) is related to his active duty service, including from exposure to toxins and chemicals from open burn pits during the harsh winters in Korea. The Board finds a pre-decisional duty to assist error and remands for obtaining a VA medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was caused by cardiopulmonary arrest, with congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and coronary artery disease presence of stent as the underlying cause. The Board has determined that there is a need for additional medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's hypertension, which he had during service, contributed to his death.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for cause of death, finding that his service-connected conditions did not contribute to his death. The evidence showed well-controlled heart symptoms prior to death and no causal relationship between anxiety and cardiopulmonary disease or renal failure.
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