The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the Board found no evidence linking his cause of death to military service.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing that the Veteran had any cardiovascular disease, kidney problems, or diabetes mellitus in service or for many years after separation from service. The appellant's lay opinions were not competent to establish a link between the Veteran's cause of death and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Congestive heart disease, Renal insufficiency, Diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2011
- Citation
- 1110769
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 1110769.
What this means for you
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The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of ambulance travel expenses incurred on June 17, 2025 due to an emergency heart attack. The ambulance service was provided by a volunteer organization and later intercepted by a higher-tier EMT company.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment prior to September 28, 2021. From September 28, 2021 to May 22, 2022, the Veteran had a combined total disability rating of 100%, which rendered the issue moot as he was already receiving SMC based on his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and diabetes mellitus, but granted TDIU for the period prior to January 26, 2024.,Prior to this decision, the Veteran withdrew his claim of service connection for diabetes mellitus.
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