The Board found that the Veteran's death was not caused by VA hospital care, medical or surgical treatment. The appellant did not provide sufficient evidence to establish causation.
The deciding factor: VA hospital care and treatment did not cause the Veteran's death as his death was due to sepsis resulting from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Pneumonia, Respiratory failure, Atrial fibrillation, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 16, 2010
- Citation
- 1034983
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 1034983.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no competent evidence linking any principal or contributory cause of his death to his service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was caused by acute hypoxic respiratory failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with hypertension as a significant contributing factor. The Board finds that remand is necessary to obtain the Veteran's complete military records and treatment records.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that none of the listed causes were related to his military service and no service-connected disability contributed to his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of entitlement to SMC based on the need for aid and attendance for the Veteran's spouse due to conflicting information in the June 2025 examination. A VA examination is needed to determine if the spouse requires regular aid and attendance.
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