The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be natural causes, but the VA medical opinion concluded that his service-connected disabilities did not contribute substantially or materially to his death. The Board found the VA medical opinion more persuasive and denied service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's service-connected left leg disability alone was not the immediate or underlying cause of death, nor did it contribute substantially or materially to cause death.
- Claimed conditions
- profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, angioneurotic edema with brachial plexus causalgia involving the ulnar and median nerve, removal of first rib associated with angioneurotic edema with brachial plexus causalgia involving the ulnar and median nerve, gunshot wound of the left leg
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 10, 2013
- Citation
- 1329009
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 1329009.
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 Board found that the appellant was not permanently incapable of self-support prior to attaining age 18, and thus denied his claim for DIC benefits based on permanent incapacity for self-support.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's request to reopen her claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding no new and material evidence. The cause of death listed on the veteran's death certificate was not related to his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional service medical records, which may affect his claims for increased ratings and service connection.
- Granted
The veteran's claim for service connection for profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss was granted with an effective date of April 27, 2001.
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