The Board denied the appellant's claims for DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 and dependent's educational assistance under Chapter 35, as there was no evidence that VA's failure to timely diagnose or properly treat the veteran's condition proximately caused his death or that VA failed to exercise the degree of care expected of a reasonable health care provider.
The deciding factor: The veteran's pulmonary condition increased in severity during hospitalization at the VAMC, but its continuance or progress was not proximately caused by VA's failure to timely diagnose or properly treat the disease. The VA exercised the degree of care that would be expected of a reasonable health care provider.
- Claimed conditions
- blastomycoses, emphysema, chronic bronchitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2008
- Citation
- 0812030
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,677 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0812030.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of adequate examination and opinion regarding the Veteran's claimed chronic bronchitis. The Veteran is seeking service connection for this condition, which was denied in an initial decision. The VA examiner did not address the medical record indicating a current diagnosis of chronic bronchitis.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's lung condition, including pneumonia residuals, COPD, and emphysema, is remanded for further examination to determine if they are related to his military service. The appeal is reopened based on new evidence.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeals for service connection for depression, Gram Positive Cocci Condition, chronic bronchitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and diseases of Keratinization due to untimely filing of the Decision Review Request.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for chronic bronchitis, finding that the Veteran's current condition is related to his active duty service.
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