The veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected condition, and thus the appellant is not entitled to burial benefits based on service-connected death.
The deciding factor: The VHA opinions concluded that hip replacements could not be the cause of death, and other medical issues were deemed more significant than the service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hip replacement, fracture of L4 vertebra with degenerative joint disease, arthralgia of right wrist, hemorrhoids status post-operative, anesthesia of right suborbital nerve
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 8, 2005
- Citation
- 0510157
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0510157.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to an improper concurrent election of review types.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claimed conditions and their relationship to service. The issues of entitlement to service connection for various gastrointestinal and hip disabilities are being reviewed again.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for lumbar spine disorder and bilateral hip replacement secondary to the lumbar spine disorder, finding that the Veteran's conditions are not related to his military service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not result in the physical loss or permanent loss of use of at least one hand or foot, nor does he have ankylosis of either hip. Therefore, he is ineligible for financial assistance in purchasing a vehicle with adaptive equipment.
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