The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that the veteran's service-connected cholecystectomy and exposure to Agent Orange were not related to his primary biliary cirrhosis which led to his death.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions concluded that there was no causal relationship between the veteran's service-connected conditions or herbicide exposure and his primary biliary cirrhosis, which was determined to be the cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of cholecystectomy, primary biliary cirrhosis with accompanying conditions of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, pneumonia, and septic shock
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 21, 2008
- Citation
- 0813164
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for pneumonia and remanded the claims for iodine allergy, pilonidal cyst, sulfa allergy, heart disability, acquired psychiatric disorder, and lower and upper extremity disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to an inadequate VA medical opinion and a need for additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's acute hypoxemia, respiratory failure, and pneumonia were related to service or toxic exposure under the PACT Act.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia and an increased rating for asthma, and remanded several other claims including those for heart condition, chronic low back condition, diabetes mellitus type II, GERD, hypertension, and sleep apnea.
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