The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as it was less likely than not that the Veteran's service-connected residuals of amputation of the left ring finger with chronic stump infection caused or contributed to his death.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion indicated that there was no evidence of an infection in the amputated stump and that the underlying cause of death, PTB far advanced, had sufficient proof for it to warrant attention and be included in the death certificate.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Infection, Stump, ring finger, left, PTB, Far Advanced
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 13, 2009
- Citation
- 0909566
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
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