The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not cause or contribute to his death from multiple myeloma and coronary artery disease. The private medical opinions were deemed insufficient due to lack of substantive discussion and analysis.
The deciding factor: Multiple myeloma is a terminal illness, and the Veteran was diagnosed late in the disease process with severe complications, making chemotherapy inappropriate for treatment.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease (CAD), multiple myeloma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 4, 2011
- Citation
- 1117312
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 1117312.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 100 percent for service-connected multiple myeloma has been denied. The Board also remanded two issues related to nerve neuropathies, and the claims for TDIU and SMC have been denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection and TDIU are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his coronary artery disease.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer, coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus type II (DM II), hypertension, and erectile dysfunction as secondary to service-connected DM II. The Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange during active service is presumed.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for multiple myeloma, finding that the evidence is in equipoise and resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the appellant.
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