Citation Nr: 21009134
Decision Date: 02/19/21	Archive Date: 02/19/21

DOCKET NO. 19-02 131
DATE: February 19, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from a September 2018 rating decision by the Veterans Administration (VA) Rating Office (RO).  It has been advanced on the docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c). 

The Veteran served active duty from December 1965 to April 1967.  He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his honorable service.  On March 16, 2018, the Veteran died.

The Veteran’s March 2018 death certificate lists his cause of death as the result of blunt force trauma to his torso from a fall, with non-service connected blindness as a contributing factor.  A forensic investigator determined in March 2018 that the Veteran fell over recently moved furniture in his home.  In his investigation, the examiner considered several disabilities in the Veteran’s medical history, including diabetes.  Remand is necessary for an adequate medical opinion.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

1. Undertake appropriate development to obtain any outstanding records not presently associated with the record.  If any requested records are not available, the record should be annotated to reflect such and the Appellant notified in accordance with 38 C.F.R. § 3.159(e).

2. Then, obtain a VA medical opinion from an examiner with sufficient expertise to address the etiology of the Veteran's extensive history of falling.  All pertinent evidence of record must be made available to and reviewed by the examiner.

Following a comprehensive review of the relevant records and lay statements, the examiner should state whether the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities at least as likely as not (a 50 percent probability or greater) caused or were a contributing factor to the fall that lead to the Veteran’s death.

The examiner must provide a complete rationale for all proffered opinions.  In this regard, the examiner must discuss and consider the Veteran's lengthy history of falling, his service-connected disabilities, and the Appellant’s numerous lay statements.  If the examiner is unable to provide any required opinion, he or she should explain why.  If the examiner cannot provide an opinion without resorting to mere speculation, he or she shall provide a complete explanation as to why this is so.  If the inability to provide a more definitive opinion is the result of a need for additional information, the examiner should identify the additional information that is needed.

 

 

T. REYNOLDS

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Rob Schwartz, 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.