The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and thus denied service connection for the cause of his death.
The deciding factor: No medical evidence or opinion established a nexus between any of the fatal conditions and the veteran's military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Bradycardia, Asystole, Renal failure, Adult respiratory distress syndrome, Hepatitis C cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2002
- Citation
- 0214483
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 0214483.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for congestive heart failure with implanted pacemaker, bradycardia, valvular heart disease, and atrial fibrillation, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected hypertension.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding that it was related to in-service symptoms indicating kidney disease caused by systemic lupus erythematosus.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 USC 1318 due to a need for a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's causes of death, considering toxic exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for hypertension on a presumptive basis due to the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during active duty. The claim for bradycardia was remanded for further development.
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