Citation Nr: 21062952
Decision Date: 10/12/21	Archive Date: 10/12/21

DOCKET NO. 15-33 103
DATE: October 12, 2021

REMANDED

Service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served in the United States Navy from February 1957 to February 1961. He died in December 2016. The Appellant is the Veteran's surviving spouse.

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a February 2014 rating decision. In October 2019 the Board issued a decision denying service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. The Appellant appealed this decision to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC) which issued a memorandum decision in July 2020 setting aside the Board's decision and remanding the claim back to the Board for further adjudication. The Board then remanded the claim in April 2021 in accordance with the July 2020 memorandum decision. The Board finds that there has been substantial compliance with the remand directives. Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998).

The Appellant, through her representative, has submitted argument that the Veteran's cause of death is the result of in-service asbestos exposure, along with several scholarly articles regarding the effects of asbestos exposure. To date, there has been no opinion given regarding the Veteran's in-service asbestos exposure and the cause of the Veteran's death. As such, remand is in-order to obtain an opinion.

The matter is REMANDED for the following action:

Obtain an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician regarding whether any of the Veteran's causes of death listed on his death certificate (shock, myocardial infarction, and arteriosclerotic heart disease) are at least as likely as not due to the Veteran's service, to include the Veteran's claimed asbestos exposure. In forming this opinion, the examiner must address the scholarly articles submitted by the Appellant's representative.

A complete rationale must be provided for all opinions offered.

 

 

JOHN Z. JONES

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Jorge Barroso, 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 This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.