The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death to obtain a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's contributory causes of death are related to service or whether his hepatitis is related to service and thereby caused or contributed to his death.
The deciding factor: Development for an addendum VA medical opinion is necessary due to the failure to obtain opinions on the significance of in-service symptoms and findings, as well as the Veteran's report of pain and pressure in the chest and shortness of breath reported on his October 1963 separation report of medical history given that congestive heart failure was listed as a contributory cause of death on his death certificate.
- Claimed conditions
- cirrhosis, congestive heart failure, diabetes mellitus, type II, hepatic encephalopathy, hypertension, morbid obesity
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 11, 2025
- Citation
- A25051225
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 910 · Granted: 31% (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 A25051225.
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 claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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