The Veteran died from respiratory failure, right arm arteriovenous graft infection, and gastric cancer. The cause of death is not service-connected as there was no evidence linking the conditions to his military service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not have any service-connected disabilities at the time of his death, and the causes of death are not related to his military service or a pre-existing condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Respiratory failure, Right arm arteriovenous graft infection, Gastric cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2015
- Citation
- 1504239
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1504239.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no competent evidence linking any principal or contributory cause of his death to his service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his gastric cancer was at least as likely as not related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death to consider additional evidence regarding exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, attributing it to gastric cancer that was linked to Agent Orange exposure during his military service.
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