The Board found no causal relationship between any service-connected disability and the veteran's death, thus denying service connection for the cause of death. The DIC claim under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 was also denied as there is no evidence showing that VA treatment proximately caused or contributed to the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by VA physicians did not establish a causal relationship between any service-connected disability and the veteran's death, nor were there findings of an event not reasonably foreseeable resulting from VA care.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Coronary artery disease, Anemia, Dementia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2006
- Citation
- 0635162
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,458 · 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 0635162.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his myocardial infarction and COPD to his military service.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for bladder cancer, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as there is no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for heart condition was granted with an effective date of August 1, 2019. The decision is based on evidence showing exposure to diesel and gas fuel during service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher level of SMC was denied as the Board found that he is already in receipt of SMC at the (l) rate based on need for regular aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease with congestive heart failure. A second award of SMC at the (l) rate based on need for regular aid and attendance was not warranted.
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