The Board found that the veteran's cause of death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by a disability incurred in or aggravated by his military service, including exposure to herbicides. The medical records did not establish a link between hypertension and the veteran's stroke.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking the veteran’s stroke, which led to his death, to his active duty service, including exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- recurrent aspiration pneumonia, old brain stem hemorrhage, quadriplegia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2008
- Citation
- 0827398
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 0827398.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a need to associate certain FTCA files with the Veteran's claims file.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for quadriplegia to correct duty to assist errors, including obtaining outstanding VA treatment records and an adequate medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's quadriplegia was proximately caused and aggravated by his service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's quadriplegia, neurogenic bowel, and neurogenic bladder are not considered to be a result of VA carelessness, negligence, or error. The Board found that the additional disability was caused by inadequate care provided by the group home after discharge from VA facilities.
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