Citation Nr: 21042571 Decision Date: 07/13/21 Archive Date: 07/13/21 DOCKET NO. 15-42 816A DATE: July 13, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to service connection for cause of death is remanded. Entitlement to burial benefits is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from April 1968 to April 1971. He was awarded the Purple Heart. Unfortunately, he died in January 2015. The Appellant is the Veteran's surviving spouse. Entitlement to service connection for cause of death; and entitlement to burial benefits, is remanded. In August 2019, the Board denied the Appellant's claims for service connection for cause of death and burial benefits. The Appellant appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC). By a December 2020 Order, CAVC granted a joint motion for remand (JMR). The basis of the JMR was that the Board erred by failing to ensure that VA satisfied its duty to assist. Specifically, the JMR states that the RO erred by not obtaining VA treatment records from the Las Vegas VAMC for the period from June 2000 to June 2012, and in the alternative, by not notifying the Appellant of the unavailability of such records. As noted by the Board in its April 2021 remand, a request to VA's Southern Nevada Healthcare System for the Veteran's VA treatment records dated prior to June 2012 received a negative response. Consistent with the Board's April 2021 remand, the Appellant was notified of the unavailability of those records. The RO also requested and obtained all available VA treatment records from Loma Linda, California, dating from May 1971. In June 2021, the RO obtained VA medical opinions, as directed by the Board in its April 2021 remand. However, the VA medical opinions are incomplete. Although the VA examiner opined that the Veteran's COPD was less likely than not caused by his exposure to herbicides and his atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease less likely than not caused or aggravated his fatal congestive heart failure, the examiner did not opine as to whether the Veteran's atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease at least as likely as not caused his death. As such, remand is required to obtain additional VA medical opinion. As the Appellant's claim for burial benefits is intertwined with the cause of death claim, it must also be remanded at this time. See Harris v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 180, 183 (1991). The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Obtain a VA addendum opinion from the June 2021 VA examiner, or another appropriate clinician. After reviewing the claims file, to include a copy of this and the Board's prior remand, the examiner is asked to opine: (a.) Whether it is at least as likely as not (50 percent probability or greater) that the Veteran's atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: caused his death; contributed substantially or materially to his death; combined to cause his death; resulted in debilitating effects and general impairment of health to the extent that rendered the Veteran less capable of resisting the effects of either disease or injury primarily causing death; or was of such severity as to have a material influence in accelerating death. In so opining, the examiner is reminded that service-connected diseases or injuries involving active processes affecting vital organs receive careful consideration as a contributory cause of death, the primary cause being unrelated, from the viewpoint of whether there were resulting debilitating effects and general impairment of health to an extent that would render the person materially less capable of resisting the effects of other disease or injury primarily causing death. A complete rationale for any medical opinion rendered must be provided. H.M. WALKER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Martha R. Luboch, 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.