The Board found that the veteran's service-connected disabilities did not cause or contribute to his death, and denied both claims for service connection for cause of death and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not show that any of the veteran's service-connected disabilities caused or contributed to his death, and he was a former POW who did not have a disease related to captivity (Beriberi heart disease) manifest within one year after discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- Multiple myeloma, Transitional cell bladder cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 4, 2004
- Citation
- 0411574
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 0411574.
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 the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's service-connected multiple myeloma contributed substantially or materially to his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of multiple myeloma to obtain additional evidence and an adequate medical opinion.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple myeloma, Parkinson's disease, diabetes mellitus type II (DMII), and kidney failure secondary to DMII based on in-service herbicide exposure.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple myeloma and the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the evidence was in equipoise as to whether the Veteran's multiple myeloma was related to exposure to solvents during his period of active duty service.
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