The Board denied service connection for the cause of death and denied dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 due to lack of evidence showing a service-connected disability was the primary or contributory cause of death, and because no service-connected disability was continuously rated totally disabling for at least ten years prior to death.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran's service-connected thrombosis of the right saphenous vein was not the primary or a contributory cause of his death. The causes of death were respiratory failure, heart disease, and aspiration pneumonia, none of which are related to service or any aspect thereof.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory failure, heart disease, aspiration pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 22, 2006
- Citation
- 0608216
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,645 · Granted: 19% (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 0608216.
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Related decisions
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The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for heart disease, hypertension, kidney disease, and low back pain due to potential errors in duty to assist. The AOJ is required to verify the Veteran's alleged exposure to herbicide agents and obtain private treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for artery disease, COPD, diabetes, and heart disease due to potential exposure to herbicide agents during his active duty.
- Denied
The Veteran's causes of death were not found to be service-connected, as there was no credible evidence linking the conditions to his military service.
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