The veteran's death was caused by complications from VA treatment, including bowel obstruction and dementia. The Board found that the 1994 surgery resulted in additional disabilities and contributed to his death.
The deciding factor: The 1994 VA surgery for a hypogastric artery aneurysm led to adhesions causing multiple complications, which were directly related to the lack of judgment in carrying out the surgery.
- Claimed conditions
- bowel disorder, lung disorder, dementia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 17, 2003
- Citation
- 0304957
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 685 · Granted: 36% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0304957.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
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- Granted
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- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for dementia because the Veteran's Notice of Disagreement was not timely filed.
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