The Board found that the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability and denied both his claim for service connection for cause of death and his request for a compensable rating for his right thumb disability.
The deciding factor: The September 2014 VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's death was due to pulmonary embolism caused by metastatic adenocarcinoma, which is not related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- massive pulmonary embolism, metastatic cancer of unknown primary, AIDS, cryptococcus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2014
- Citation
- 1455472
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1455472.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not related to his active military service, and the Board denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The claim for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is denied as the Veteran was not rated totally disabled at any point, and the death certificate lists sepsis as the immediate cause of death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected PTSD aggravated his hypertension, which in turn contributed to his cerebrovascular disease/event and death. The Board finds this evidence is at least in equipoise, granting service connection for the cause of death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the diagnosed conditions were not related to his active service.
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