The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected conditions did not cause or contribute to his death, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA physician concluded that the Veteran's hypertension and kidney disease were not significant enough to substantially contribute to heart failure, which was the immediate cause of death. The private physicians' statements linking the Veteran's service-connected disabilities to his death in particular or to his death in general are not competent evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiac failure, mantle cell lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 2, 2013
- Citation
- 1339536
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 1339536.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death is granted as service-connected, with the issue of DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 being dismissed due to the grant of service connection.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not connected to his active-duty service, and therefore the claim for service connection for cause of death and entitlement to DIC is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for mantle cell lymphoma is remanded due to the need for clarification of his condition status and severity.
- Dismissed
Your claim for service connection for mantle cell lymphoma has been granted, and the issue is no longer on appeal.
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