The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected conditions did not substantially or materially contribute to his death, and thus denied the claim for service connection for cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA physician provided an opinion stating that the Veteran's lobar pneumonia was a bacterial complication superimposed on his COPD, and in no way related to his service-connected abdominal adhesions. The daughter's opinion is not considered competent evidence as she lacks specialized medical knowledge regarding infectious diseases or pathology.
- Claimed conditions
- bowel incontinence, loss of use of both legs due to gunshot wound, peritoneal adhesions due to gunshot wound, cystitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 7, 2010
- Citation
- 1017016
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 1017016.
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 Veteran's bowel incontinence is rated at 60 percent, but not more. The Board also granted a TDIU prior to January 18, 2013.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for bowel incontinence and residuals scarring associated with a colon biopsy are denied, as is his claim for service connection for chronic headaches. His claims for lumbosacral strain and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for bowel incontinence was granted with an effective date of November 12, 2015. The Board found that the AOJ did not properly handle the supplemental claim application and implicitly waived any procedural defects.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims of entitlement to a compensable disability rating for bowel incontinence and entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to insufficient evidence regarding the severity of his bowel incontinence. The case is being returned to the AOJ for further action.
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