The Veteran's death was not caused by VA medical treatment, and the cause of his death (cardiopulmonary arrest) is unrelated to any service-connected condition or exposure. The appellant's claims for death pension benefits and accrued benefits were also denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died from cardiopulmonary arrest due to liver failure and cirrhosis, which are not related to VA medical treatment or a service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- cirrhosis, pneumonia, adult respiratory distress syndrome, liver failure, hypokalemia, hyperkalemia, metabolic acidosis, lactic acidosis, hypocalcemia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 27, 2012
- Citation
- 1222353
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 1222353.
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.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by any service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has dismissed the appeal for accrued benefits and has remanded the issue of service connection for cause of death, as there was a duty to assist error related to obtaining a medical nexus opinion regarding in-service herbicide agent exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and asthma as causes of death. The evidence did not support finding that these conditions were related to his service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's Hepatitis C with cirrhosis is related to service, and therefore grants service connection for these conditions.
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