Citation Nr: 19190826
Decision Date: 12/03/19	Archive Date: 12/03/19

DOCKET NO. 17-16 767A
DATE: December 3, 2019

REMANDED

Entitlement to service-connected burial benefits is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Air Force from September 1971 to September 1991. He died in May 2016. The appellant is the Veteran’s surviving spouse.

Of note, this appellant was previously awarded burial benefits payable where the cause of a veteran’s death is not service-connected in the amount of $300 for funeral expenses and $1,090 for transportation expenses. VA notification letter, September 2017. However, the appellant asserts that this Veteran died from causes related to his military service and she is thus eligible for a higher monetary rate of burial benefits than that already received. As such, entitlement to burial benefits on the basis of a service-connected death is addressed herein.

Additionally, the appellant has perfected a separate appeal as to the claim of entitlement to a higher initial rating for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including a claim of entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU). This appeal seeking an increased disability rating during the Veteran’s lifetime is based on different facts and law than the present appeal regarding the appellant’s entitlement to burial benefits, and for this reason they remain two separate appeals streams. Nonetheless, the development sought by an October 2019 Board remand in the other appeals matter is found to potentially have a direct bearing on the outcome of this case, and for this reason, the Board finds that the present matter regarding burial benefits should not be adjudicated prior to resolution of the development sought in the appeal seeking an increased rating for the Veteran’s PTSD. 

Entitlement to service-connected burial benefits is remanded.

As the evidentiary development sought pursuant to the October 2019 Board remand of the appeal seeking an increased rating for PTSD, in particular private hospital treatment records for the date of the Veteran’s death, could significantly impact a decision on the issue of whether service-connected burial benefits are warranted, the issues are inextricably intertwined. See also Board remand, June 2019 (rendered in the present burial appeal seeking same private treatment records). A remand of the claim for service-connected burial benefits is required, pending the outcome of the evidentiary development sought.

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

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Once there has been substantial compliance with the evidentiary development instructions in the October 2019 Board remand seeking private hospital records from the Veteran’s date of death in the separate appeals stream for an increased disability rating for PTSD, including TDIU, readjudicate the service-connected burial issue on appeal. 

If the burial benefit sought is not granted, send the appellant and her representative a Supplemental Statement of the Case and provide an opportunity to respond.  If necessary, return the case to the Board for further appellate review.

 

 

K. J. ALIBRANDO

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	K. McDonald, Associate Counsel

The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.