The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death was not due to service-connected disabilities, including his service-connected knee and back conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion indicated that the veteran's service-connected disabilities did not cause his death, which was attributed to multiple significant medical problems such as COPD, coronary artery disease, hypertension, and myelodysplastic disorders.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, left total knee replacement, shell fragment wound of the right knee
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 18, 2001
- Citation
- 0111257
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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0111257.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine, finding that the evidence did not support a causal relationship between the Veteran's current disability and his active military service.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypertension, an increased rating for a stroke and stroke residuals, and an increased rating for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps on a presumptive basis due to presumed exposure to fine particulate matter during active service in Southwest Asia. The claims for sleep apnea syndrome and degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine were remanded for further development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial rating of 40 percent for degenerative joint disease of the lumbar spine from February 20, 2013 to January 22, 2020, exclusive of a convalescence period. The other claims were denied.
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