The Board has remanded the case due to a pre-decisional error in failing to obtain an opinion addressing whether the Veteran's cause of death, even if not related to toxic exposure, was related to hypertension incurred in service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address whether the Veteran's hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease was related to his service or any other factor.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2026
- Citation
- A26022354
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 A26022354.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that his conditions were not related to his military service and did not warrant a grant based on exposure to herbicides.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's end-stage chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and obstructive sleep apnea contributed substantially or materially to his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected PTSD and/or medications for PTSD caused or contributed to his death from hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for gout, an eye disorder (claimed as poor vision), bilateral hearing loss, hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and a pulmonary disorder (claimed as breathing problems due to hypertension) due to insufficient evidence regarding their etiology.
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