The Board denied entitlement to DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 and service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding no evidence that VA's care or transportation caused the veteran's additional disability or death.
The deciding factor: The Board found no credible evidence suggesting that VA's transportation on January 4, 2005, or its subsequent care, proximately caused the veteran's fatal aspiration pneumonia. The record also showed that both the veteran and his family had opted for palliative care, which was consistent with his declining health.
- Claimed conditions
- aspiration pneumonia, stage IV non-small cell lung cancer with bone metastasis, anemia, hypercalcemia, hypertension, hyperlipidemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2009
- Citation
- 0904325
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0904325.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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