The Veteran's death was not directly or proximately related to his service-connected disabilities, including diabetes and hearing loss.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion concluded that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not cause his death due to sepsis and multi-organ failure.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, Type II diabetes mellitus with peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities with osteomyelitis, left foot, Psychophysiologic muscular disorder, Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy with both eyes macular edema associated with type II diabetes mellitus with peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral lower extremities with osteomyelitis, left foot
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- February 19, 2014
- Citation
- 1407145
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 1407145.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal of the deferred decision regarding entitlement to compensation for headaches is dismissed. Service connection for sleep apnea and bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's SMC was granted at the intermediate level between 38 U.S.C. § 1114(m) and (n) due to additional disabilities including peripheral neuropathies, tinnitus, hearing loss, and lymphoma.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, finding that the Veteran's most recent claim was filed on May 23, 2017.
- Granted
The Board granted a disability rating of 20 percent but no higher for the Veteran's bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
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