The veteran's death was not caused by any of his service-connected disabilities, and there is no evidence that they contributed to his death. The medical records do not show a causal connection between the veteran's renal failure and his service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA specialist found no evidence linking the veteran's kidney condition to his service-connected disabilities or to any of his combat injuries.
- Claimed conditions
- Adherent scar, with damage to Muscle Group XI on the left, with residuals of a healed fractured fibula, Chronic, adhesive, fibrous pleurisy on the right, Neuritis of the right, dorsal, sixth to tenth intercostal nerves, Renal Failure, Residuals if malaria, Residuals of a gunshot wound of the right lower chest, with damage to Muscle Group I
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2004
- Citation
- 0406622
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,467 · Granted: 18% (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 0406622.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, specifically his medication for treatment of PTSD, is found to have contributed materially to his death. The Board concludes the evidence is in approximate balance with respect to whether the PTSD medication caused his death.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for renal failure, finding that there was no evidence to support a direct link between his current condition and his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied requests for earlier effective dates and ratings for PTSD, renal failure, and SMC based on housebound criteria. The issues of initial higher rating for liver transplant residuals and SMC based on aid and attendance are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service-connected conditions and his death, as well as the potential impact of in-service herbicide exposure.
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