The Veteran died from a possible pulmonary embolus following a laminectomy for a herniated lumbar disc. The Board finds that the cause of death is not service-connected.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence suggesting a correlation between the Veteran's death and his military service, including missing service treatment records.
- Claimed conditions
- Pulmonary Embolus, Herniated Lumbar Disc
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2010
- Citation
- 1004431
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 1004431.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the cause of death and potential service connection. The Veteran's cause of death was congestive heart failure, which is believed to be caused by hypertension and pulmonary embolus.
- Granted
The Board has determined that exposure to chemicals during service, particularly diesel fuel fumes from the Veteran's duties as an auto mechanic, may have contributed to his death due to a pulmonary embolus. The evidence is in equipoise regarding whether this exposure substantially contributed to the cause of death.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his COPD was caused by exposure to herbicide agents in service. The decision is based on the link between his COPD and his presumed exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam.
- Granted
The petition to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is granted. The appeal is allowed to that extent only, and the claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is remanded.
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