The Board found that the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability or a condition for which he had service connection, and thus denied both his claim for cause of death benefits and his claim under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a medical nexus between the Veteran's rheumatoid arthritis and his period of active service, nor was there sufficient continuity of symptomatology from service discharge to support a finding that the condition began during service or was related to any service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Pneumonia, Rheumatoid Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2015
- Citation
- 1512225
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 1512225.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that none of the listed causes were related to his military service and no service-connected disability contributed to his death.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for cause of death, finding that his service-connected conditions did not contribute to his death. The evidence showed well-controlled heart symptoms prior to death and no causal relationship between anxiety and cardiopulmonary disease or renal failure.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him in need of regular aid and attendance, warranting SMC based on the need for aid and attendance from March 24, 2017.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 were not met.
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