Citation Nr: 18158745
Decision Date: 12/17/18	Archive Date: 12/17/18

DOCKET NO. 15-09 492
DATE:	December 17, 2018
REMANDED
Service connection for the Veteran’s cause of death is remanded.
REASONS FOR REMAND
The Veteran served on active duty with the U.S. Navy from March 1974 to December 1983 and from February 1985 to May 1995. 
The Veteran died in January 2014; the appellant is his surviving spouse and has been properly substituted in the appeal. 
The appellant testified at an October 2015 Board of Veterans’ Appeals hearing; a transcript has been associated with the record. 
1. Entitlement to service connection for cause of death is remanded.
As noted above, the Veteran died in January 2014 and his death certificate states the cause as cardiac pulmonary arrest due to chronic diabetes.  The Veteran was only service-connected for hypertension, sinusitis, and cervical spondylosis and disc herniation.  An opinion as to whether the Veteran’s cause of death was related to service has not been sought. 
During the October 2015 hearing, the appellant testified that prior to his death, the Veteran had been taking various medications for hypertension and was very sick.  She believed that his death was related to his service connected hypertension because the Veteran had been told he had an enlarged heart, and although the death certificate stated his cause of death was due to diabetes, it was unknown if the diabetes actually caused the heart attack.  She was unable to obtain any records from the hospitals that treated the Veteran before he passed.  
Therefore, on remand, an opinion addressing the Veteran’s cause of death and its relationship to service, as well as any outstanding treatment records should be sought. 
The matter is REMANDED for the following action:
1. Attempt to obtain any outstanding treatment records from Tipton Regional Medical Center in Tipton, Georgia, and Phoebe Memorial Hospital in Sylvester, Georgia. 
2. Obtain a VA opinion from an appropriate clinician to determine the nature of the Veteran’s death.  Specifically, the examiner is asked to address:
Whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran’s cardiac pulmonary arrest was caused by or related to service, including due to his service-connected hypertension.   
The examiner is asked to explain the reasons behind any opinions expressed and conclusions reached.  The examiner is reminded that the term "as likely as not" does not mean "within the realm of medical possibility," but rather that the evidence of record is so evenly divided that, in the examiner's expert opinion, it is as medically sound to find in favor of the proposition as it is to find against it.
 
BETHANY L. BUCK
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	A. Price, Associate Counsel