The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and denied DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318, as there was no evidence linking the Veteran's fatal disease process to his period of military service or any of his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The competent and probative evidence did not suggest that the Veteran's fatal disease process was related to his period of military service or any of his service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine, Total left hip arthroplasty
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 27, 2009
- Citation
- 0907485
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 a 50 percent rating for the Veteran's degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine, effective February 2, 2020.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a 40 percent rating for degenerative joint disease of the lumbosacral spine and a separate 10 percent rating from March 21, 2016 to October 20, 2024 for right lower extremity radiculopathy associated with the service-connected lumbosacral spine condition. The claim for an increased rating for the right shoulder acromioclavicular separation was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates, as well as a TDIU claim, due to additional evidence received after the last SOC and the need for an updated examination.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the appeal as the appellant's representative requested withdrawal of the appeal due to the AOJ granting a TDIU.
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