The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that no evidence showed that any service-connected disability caused or contributed to his death.
The deciding factor: There was no probative evidence showing that the service-connected shell fragment wounds caused or materially contributed to the veteran's death by causing pneumonia or combining with other nonservice-connected disabilities to cause death.
- Claimed conditions
- pneumonia, sepsis secondary to meningitis, urinary tract infection, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 30, 2001
- Citation
- 0114955
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 0114955.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and asthma as causes of death. The evidence did not support finding that these conditions were related to his service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and pneumonia due to insufficient evidence in the record. The Veteran's current diagnoses are not supported by the medical records provided.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issues of service connection for extreme fatigue, difficulty breathing, sepsis, and urinary tract infection due to incomplete records and a need for additional medical opinions.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that there was no evidence linking any of the immediate or contributing causes of his death to his period of active duty service. The Board also found that the PACT Act did not apply in this case as the Veteran served prior to the period when herbicide agents were presumed used.
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