The Board remanded the claim for service connection of the Veteran's cause of death to obtain additional medical opinions. The Veteran's death certificate indicated suicide by asphyxiation, with contributory factors including prior suicide attempts, suicidal ideations, PTSD, and ADHD.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that a pre-decisional duty to assist error occurred, warranting a remand for an addendum VA medical opinion addressing all theories of entitlement and evidence of record.
- Claimed conditions
- primary insomnia, left shoulder bicipital tendonitis, right hip tensor fascia lata and iliotibial band syndrome, left hip tensor fascia lata and iliotibial band syndrome, left knee patellofemoral syndrome and shin splints, right shin splints, tinnitus, right hip, limitation of internal rotation, left hip, limitation of rotation, bilateral hearing loss
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2025
- Citation
- A25005340
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,886 · 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 A25005340.
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 service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
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