The Veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by his service-connected cold injury residuals. The cause of death listed on the Certificate of Death is disregarded, and there are no medical records showing any connection between the Veteran's cold injuries and his subsequent health issues.
The deciding factor: The VA opinion concluded that the Veteran's death was less likely as not caused by or a result of his service-connected residuals of cold injury to hands and feet. The examiner noted that the Veteran had multiple well-documented medical problems unrelated to his time in service that contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- cold injury residuals of the left and right hands, cold injury residuals of the left and right feet
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 4, 2009
- Citation
- 0933385
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 0933385.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded three issues related to service connection for cold injury residuals of the left and right shoulders, hands, and knees due to a lack of adequate examination and reasoning.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cold injury residuals of the left and right knees, hands, and shoulders as there is no evidence that these conditions are related to in-service exposure to cold.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including obtaining records of the Appellant's reserve component service and conducting a VA examination to determine if her multiple sclerosis is related to service.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals were dismissed due to the death of the appellant. The issues related to service connection for various conditions and disability ratings.
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