The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as there was no evidence that a service-related disease or injury caused the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence linking the cause of the veteran's death to some aspect of his honorable period of service.
- Claimed conditions
- hepatic failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 24, 2009
- Citation
- 0906699
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.
- Partly granted
The previously denied claim of entitlement to service connection for hepatitis C is reopened and granted in part, while other claims are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and the claim for accrued benefits due to a lack of evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's death may be related to his time aboard a ship in Vietnam, but more evidence is needed to confirm this. The VA will verify if the ship was within Vietnam's territorial sea and obtain deck logs for further review.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.