The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as there was no evidence that a disability incurred in or aggravated by military service caused or contributed substantially to his death.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not show that any service-connected disability caused or contributed to the veteran's death. The primary causes of death were listed as malnutrition and metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung, with other contributing factors including diabetes mellitus, chronic pancreatitis, neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, and myopathy.
- Claimed conditions
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Tinnitus, Residuals of shrapnel fragment wound scars to the face and right ear
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 9, 2008
- Citation
- 0811789
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the Veteran's appeals for service connection for bilateral hearing loss disability and tinnitus due to a lack of jurisdiction.
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