The Veteran's cause of death was due to acute respiratory distress syndrome, MRSA bacteremia with sepsis, and pneumonia. Pulmonary fibrosis and bradycardia with placement of a pacemaker contributed to the Veteran's cause of death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not have diagnosed ischemic heart disease at any time, and there is no presumption for service connection based on exposure to herbicides or other conditions under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e).
- Claimed conditions
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome, MRSA bacteremia with sepsis, Pneumonia, Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 27, 2016
- Citation
- 1616895
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 1616895.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for interstitial pulmonary fibrosis as secondary to in-service exposure to toxins from explosives and mortars, and for bladder cancer as secondary to in-service exposure to forever chemicals.
- 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.
- 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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