The Veteran's death was caused by complications from a VA surgical procedure, specifically an esophagectomy. The Board finds that the event of his death (death due to sepsis and pneumonia) was not reasonably foreseeable given the known risks associated with abdominal surgery.
The deciding factor: Death was considered a foreseeable risk of the treatment provided as evidenced by post-operative complications such as infections and sepsis, which are common in patients undergoing esophagectomy procedures.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal stricture, pneumonia, sepsis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 4, 2014
- Citation
- 1448935
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 1448935.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, kidney cancer, is not service-connected. The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service or a service-connected disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic lung cancer, was found to be related to service and caused or contributed substantially to the Veteran's death. The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.
- 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 Veteran's gastritis and esophageal stricture are granted as service-connected.
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