The Board found that the cause of death was not service-connected and denied both the claim for service connection for the cause of death and the DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.
The deciding factor: The VA physician provided an opinion stating there was no association between the veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability and his spinal cord lesion secondary to astrocytoma bleed, which caused respiratory failure.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory failure, spinal cord lesion, astrocytoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 12, 2006
- Citation
- 0617133
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 0617133.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's acute hypoxemia, respiratory failure, and pneumonia were related to service or toxic exposure under the PACT Act.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain additional evidence, including service treatment records and private medical records, and to obtain an addendum medical opinion regarding the Veteran's causes of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, for purposes of entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors and to satisfy any statutory or regulatory duty that could aid in substantiating the claim, specifically related to asbestos exposure under the PACT Act.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.