Citation Nr: 21015073 Decision Date: 03/16/21 Archive Date: 03/16/21 DOCKET NO. 16-15 417A DATE: March 16, 2021 REMANDED The claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of death is remanded. The claim of entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is remanded. The claim of entitlement to accrued benefits is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty with the U.S. Army from December 1967 to August 1969, to include service in the Republic of Vietnam. The Veteran died in December 2013. The appellant is the Veteran’s surviving spouse. These matters come before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) from an April 2014 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The appellant indicated on her April 2016 VA Form 9 that she wished to testify at a Board hearing. A Board central office hearing was scheduled for March 2019 and the appellant was provided notice of this hearing in February 2019. However, the appellant failed to report to the scheduled hearing and failed to explain her absence. Therefore, the Board hearing request is considered withdrawn. See 38 C.F.R. § 20.704 (d). 1. The claim of entitlement to service connection for cause of death is remanded. Although the Board regrets further delay, a remand is necessary to obtain an addendum VA opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran’s death. In the May 2014 Notice of Disagreement, the appellant submitted a January 2014 Statement to Amend Cause of Death, where the physician who had previously opined that the Veteran had passed away due to or as a consequence of anoxic brain injury later changed this to complication of diabetes and coronary artery disease. As the Veteran was service connected for both diabetes mellitus, type II and coronary artery disease prior to his death, and the March 2016 VA examiner did not specifically address the amended death certificate, an addendum VA opinion is necessary to address the different results. 2. The claims of entitlement to DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 and entitlement to accrued benefits are remanded. In April 2014, the RO denied DIC, service connection for cause of death, and accrued benefits. The Veteran filed a timely May 2014 notice of disagreement on all three issues. As no Statement of the Case has been issued regarding DIC or accrued benefits, these issues are remanded. See Manlincon v. West, 12 Vet. App. 238 (1999). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. The claims file should be sent to an appropriate examiner to offer an opinion as to whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the Veteran’s death was caused by a service-connected disability, to include diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease. In offering the opinion, the examiner is asked to consider the January 2014 Statement to Amend Cause of Death. 2. Issue a Statement of the Case regarding the appellant’s claim for entitlement to DIC and accrued benefits. Only if the appellant timely perfects an appeal should that issue be returned to the Board. APRIL MADDOX Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board A. J. Kim, 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.