The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by VA hospital care, medical or surgical treatment and denied entitlement to DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.
The deciding factor: The events at the VA hospital did not cause the veteran's death as his immediate cause of death was congestive heart failure with pneumonia due to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and COPD.
- Claimed conditions
- Congestive Heart Failure, Pneumonia, Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 29, 2006
- Citation
- 0630522
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,547 · Granted: 20% (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 0630522.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the claim of service connection for COPD due to duty-to-assist errors and a need for a supplemental medical opinion.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal to reduce the ratings for OSA and COPD with asthma and granuloma of the lung was denied, as well as his attempt to add a claim for service connection for aphasia secondary to TBI. The appeals were dismissed due to untimeliness.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for COPD is remanded due to a duty to assist error. The Board requests an addendum opinion from a pulmonologist or clinician with appropriate expertise to determine if the Veteran's COPD is etiologically related to his VA conceded TERA exposure, including exposure to TCDD, jet fuel and engine exhaust, hazardous chemicals, lead, vehicle engine exhaust fumes, chemical vapors, oily/hazardous waste, chemical solvents, and compressed gases.
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