The Board has determined that the cause of the veteran's death was not related to service, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence showing a relationship between the claimed in-service illness and the conditions which led to the veteran's demise.
- Claimed conditions
- severe anemia, melena
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 16, 2006
- Citation
- 0631990
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 680 · Granted: 24% (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 0631990.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's diagnosed myelofibrosis with severe anemia was more likely caused by his presumed exposure to herbicide agents while serving in Vietnam. Service connection for this condition is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the nature and etiology of the Veteran's gastrointestinal disability, specifically GERD and diverticulitis. The claim for service connection for melena remains denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to several issues, including substitution of the appellant for his deceased mother's DIC claim and verification of the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam. The cause of death is unknown as it was not addressed by the original decision.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by cardiopulmonary arrest due to hypovolemic shock, which is not service-connected. However, his lung cancer, a condition associated with herbicide exposure, is considered presumptively related to his service in Vietnam.
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