The Veteran died due to a fatal intestinal perforation and septic shock, neither of which are service-connected or related to his PTSD. The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking the Veteran's death to his military service or his service-connected PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- Intestinal Perforation, Septic Shock
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 23, 2016
- Citation
- 1625283
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 1625283.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's service-connected PTSD caused or aggravated his cardiovascular diseases, which were listed as contributing causes of death.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be related to his service-connected PTSD, which contributed to the sepsis caused by untreated dental issues. The Board granted service connection for the cause of death and denied compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was caused by multiple organ dysfunction with underlying causes of septic shock and adrenal insufficiency, with HIV listed as a significant condition contributing to his death. The appeal for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for HIV is denied.,Service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death cannot be established because no service-connected disability caused or contributed substantially or materially to his death.
- Denied
The Board found that the cause of the Veteran's death was not caused by VA hospital care, medical or surgical treatment, nor did it find fault on the part of VA. The appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is denied.
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