The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and entitlement to DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318, as there was no evidence that any of the veteran's disabilities were incurred in or aggravated by service.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence linking the veteran's cardiac problems, endocarditis, and renal failure to his period of active service, nor any evidence connecting these conditions to a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Cardiac problems, Endocarditis, Renal failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2009
- Citation
- 0900023
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 the Veteran's cause of death, finding that it was related to in-service symptoms indicating kidney disease caused by systemic lupus erythematosus.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 USC 1318 due to a need for a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's causes of death, considering toxic exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as there was no evidence that any of his service-connected disabilities contributed to or caused his death.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for renal failure, finding insufficient evidence to support a direct link between the condition and his military service.
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