The Board has determined that there is a pre-decisional duty to assist error and needs an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's need for personal care services, supervision or protection, and instruction or supervision.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on insufficient evidence, specifically the lack of a legally adequate medical opinion addressing the Veteran's need for personal care services, supervision or protection, and instruction or supervision without which his ability to function in daily life would be seriously impaired.
- Claimed conditions
- Memory loss, Dementia, Neurocognitive disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2026
- Citation
- A26023176
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 A26023176.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD with cognitive impairment or dementia was rated at 50 percent from July 11, 2005 to March 4, 2021. From March 4, 2021, the Veteran's condition was rated at 100 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder and exposures at Camp LeJeune contributed to his cause of death. The VA must obtain an addendum opinion addressing these issues.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's request to readjudicate his claims for service connection for PTSD (claimed as schizophrenia), headaches, and schizophrenia. The claim for memory loss and residuals of head injury remains denied due to lack of new and relevant evidence.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by difluoroethane poisoning, which is deemed an accident. The Board found that the cause of death is proximately due to his service-connected major depressive disorder with anxious distress and neurocognitive disorder.
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