Citation Nr: 18147319
Decision Date: 11/06/18	Archive Date: 11/02/18

DOCKET NO. 16-35 188A
DATE:	November 6, 2018
REMANDED
Entitlement to cause of death is remanded.  
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty from February 1941 to October 1945.  Unfortunately, he died in September 2014.
This matter comes on appeal before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a March 2015 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO).  Although the rating decision itself only denied service connection for cause of death, the March 2015 notification letter informed the Appellant that death pension and accrued benefits had also been denied.  The Appellant submitted a timely November 2015 notice of disagreement that only discussed the cause of death claim, and this appeal ensued.   
The Appellant waived a hearing before the Board in her July 2016 substantive appeal, via a VA Form 9. 
The Appellant seeks service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death.  The Certificate of Death reflects that the causes of death were cardiopulmonary arrest, sepsis, urinary tract infection, and dementia.
The Appellant specifically asserts that the Veteran had depression secondary to his service-connected disabilities, the depression proximately caused his dementia, and therefore, the depression substantially caused or contributed to the Veteran’s death.  
First, a remand is warranted to obtain additional VA treatment records.  The June 2016 statement of the case (SOC) indicates that VA treatment records from West Palm Beach VA Medical Center from July 2005 to September 2014 were reviewed in conjunction with this claim; however, it does not appear that VA treatment records are associated with the claims file after October 2009.  Since it appears that there are outstanding VA treatment records not yet associated with the claims file, a remand is warranted to obtain those records.  
Additionally, a medical opinion is needed to determine whether the Veteran’s cause of death was etiologically related to his active service, including consideration of the Appellant’s contentions regarding the cause of the Veteran’s death.  
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Obtain any pertinent outstanding VA treatment records and associate them with the claims file, specifically any pertinent VA treatment records after October 2009.  The VA treatment records currently associated with the claims file do not appear to be complete.  
2.  Then, obtain a medical opinion from an appropriate clinician to ascertain the nature and etiology of the Veteran’s cause of death.  
 
After reviewing the claims file, the examiner should then address the following:
a) Provide an opinion as to whether the Veteran had depression during his lifetime.  In doing so, address the Appellant’s contentions that the Veteran was depressed immediately preceding his death because of his service-connected disabilities.
b) If depression was present, is it at least as likely as not that the depression, at least in part, caused the dementia that contributed to his death?
c) If depression was present, but not shown to have been related to his dementia, is it at least as likely as not that the depression: (1) substantially or materially contributed to the Veteran’s death; (2) combined with another medical condition to cause death; or (3) aided or assisted the production of death?
A complete rationale should be provided.  
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3.  Then, readjudicate the claim on appeal.
 
S. B. MAYS
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	T. Harper, Associate Counsel