The Board has determined that neither the Veteran's military service nor his service-connected bilateral lower extremity neurovascular disorder caused or contributed to his death. The cause of death listed on his death certificate was respiratory failure, COPD, fractured cervical vertebra, and vascular dysfunction-atherosclerotic heart disease.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not establish a link between the Veteran's service-connected bilateral lower extremity neurovascular disorder and the causes of his death (respiratory failure, COPD, fractured cervical vertebra, and vascular dysfunction-atherosclerotic heart disease).
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory failure, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), fractured cervical vertebra, vascular dysfunction-atherosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 29, 2010
- Citation
- 1028370
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 1028370.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's acute hypoxemia, respiratory failure, and pneumonia were related to service or toxic exposure under the PACT Act.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain additional evidence, including service treatment records and private medical records, and to obtain an addendum medical opinion regarding the Veteran's causes of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, for purposes of entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an increased disability rating in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected bilateral pleural scar with obstructive and restrictive pulmonary disease, COPD and chronic bronchitis.
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