The Board found no competent and probative evidence to support a connection between the veteran's service-connected disabilities and his death.
The deciding factor: No credible medical opinion was provided that linked the veteran's service-connected conditions to his cause of death, which included sepsis syndrome, acute myocardial infarction, acute stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, renal failure, and palliative care.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic skin ulcer, left inguinal herniorrhaphy scar, hiatal hernia, trichophytosis of the feet, draining lesion at the site of left inguinal hernia surgery, residuals of bilateral inguinal herniorraphies
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2009
- Citation
- 0904006
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,643 · Granted: 15% (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 0904006.
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 remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection due to inadequate development of her exposure history and lack of adequate medical opinions. The case will be returned to the AOJ for further action.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's TDIU rating is granted with an effective date of March 15, 2017.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial disability rating for migraine headaches has been granted at 50 percent. The issue of service connection for hiatal hernia and esophagitis, related to PTSD, is remanded due to inadequate medical opinions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's GERD with hiatal hernia is rated at a 30 percent disability rating, effective March 12, 2021.
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