The Board found that the veteran's cause of death was due to complications from plasmacytoma, but did not meet the criteria for service connection as it occurred more than one year after separation from service.
The deciding factor: The disease process was diagnosed late in its course and there is no evidence of symptoms prior to discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- plasmacytoma, respiratory distress syndrome, deep vein thrombosis, dehydration, viral pneumonia, sepsis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 27, 2001
- Citation
- 0108925
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0108925.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, kidney cancer, is not service-connected. The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service or a service-connected disability.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The appeal has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic lung cancer, was found to be related to service and caused or contributed substantially to the Veteran's death. The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the service connection claims for deep vein thrombosis and hypothyroidism due to insufficient VA medical opinions.
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