The Board found that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the previously denied claim for service connection for cause of death. The Veteran's death was attributed to multiple organ failure due to coronary artery disease, with contributory factors including cardiovascular disease, hepatitis, alcohol consumption, and Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: The new evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- multiple organ failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomegaly, pulmonary hypertension, thrombosis of pulmonary arteries, organizing pneumonia, pulmonary edema and congestion, hepatomegaly with passive congestion of the liver, chronic persistent hepatitis, cholestasis, jaundice, absent spleen (status post splenectomy), renal insufficiency by history, chronic pyelenonephritis, cardiovascular disease, anemia due to undefined hemolysis requiring splenectomy and bowel resection in 1987 with complication of myocardial infarction (MI) during this procedure, irritable bowel syndrome, Hepatitis C, alcohol consumption
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2010
- Citation
- 1010955
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 1010955.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for cirrhosis, hepatitis C, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastritis, Barrett's esophagus, and obstructive sleep apnea but dismissed the claim for an acquired psychiatric disability.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hepatitis C, jaundice, hypogeusia, and hyposmia as there was no evidence of a current disability during the pendency of the claim.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including a head injury, headache disorder, erectile dysfunction, left earache disorder, chronic fatigue, right shoulder disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, right foot disorder, GERD, and left shoulder disorder, as the evidence did not support current diagnoses of these conditions.
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