The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by his service-connected Legg-Perthe's disease of right hip, and there is no evidence of a nexus between any other condition listed on his death certificate (including diabetes) and his military service. As such, the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death was denied.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the veteran did not serve in Vietnam or have presumptive exposure to herbicides, and there is no medical evidence linking any condition on his death certificate (including diabetes) to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- end stage congestive cardiomyopathy, end stage renal failure, non-insulin dependent diabetes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2005
- Citation
- 0501620
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,196 · Granted: 17% (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 0501620.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for prostate cancer and an earlier effective date for end stage renal failure with dialysis have been dismissed due to his death. The Board cannot adjudicate the merits of these claims as he has passed away.
- Dismissed
The appeal is dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's cause of death, specifically related to his service-connected conditions and military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an increased rating for left achilles tendonitis and service connection for end stage renal failure due to new evidence not previously considered by the AOJ.
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