The Board found that the veteran's service-connected disability did not cause or contribute to his death. The Board concluded that the cause of death was aspiration pneumonia, which was attributed to dementia and other conditions.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the cause of death could not be established as the service-connected disability (residuals of a shrapnel wound) did not cause or contribute substantially to the veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- Aspiration pneumonitis, Left frontal cerebrovascular accident, Severe dementia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 13, 2008
- Citation
- 0819625
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 0819625.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for Parkinson's disease and severe dementia due to a lack of evidence supporting a link between these conditions and his military service, including any in-service exposure to herbicides.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of the Veteran's cause of death to obtain a new medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's cold injury residuals contributed to and worsened his coronary artery disease, which was a contributory cause of his death.
- Granted
The Veteran's widow was granted aid and attendance benefits, effective September 30, 2010. The appellant is entitled to additional accrued benefits for the costs paid by her for her mother's last sickness and burial.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that there was no evidence linking his renal failure and aspiration pneumonitis to service or any exposure during service.
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