The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death, a brainstem stroke with septicemia, was not related to his military service and specifically denied the claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions were divided on whether the 1953 head injury caused or contributed substantially to the fatal stroke in 2003. The Board found the opinions supporting the claim less credible than those indicating no causal relationship.
- Claimed conditions
- Brainstem Stroke, Septicemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 3, 2010
- Citation
- 1033373
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 1033373.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was caused by complications from a hemorrhagic stroke and septicemia, which were not deemed to be related to VA hospital care or treatment. The Board denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was caused by septicemia due to or as a consequence of liver cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis C, which are service-connected conditions. The appellant's claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 is withdrawn.
- Denied
The Board found that the veteran's terminal stroke was unrelated to his 1953 head injury and more likely due to post-service risk factors such as age, smoking, and heart disease. Therefore, service connection for the cause of death is not warranted.
- Denied
The Board found that none of the veteran's fatal conditions had onset during service or were aggravated by a service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
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