The Veteran's death was caused by end stage cirrhosis and hepatitis B/C. The cause of his death, respiratory arrest, is not service-connected as there is no evidence of a service connection for these conditions during his lifetime.
The deciding factor: Service records do not show any diagnosis or treatment for hepatitis B/C. The Veteran's death was caused by end stage cirrhosis and hepatitis B/C which were diagnosed after he left active duty.
- Claimed conditions
- Respiratory arrest, End stage cirrhosis, Hepatitis B/C
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 19, 2016
- Citation
- 1628640
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 1628640.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death on a direct basis, finding that there was not sufficient evidence to establish causation due to VA medical care. The Veteran's death was attributed to transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), which is a known complication of blood transfusions.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was caused by complications of a blood transfusion, specifically Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI). The Board found that the VA did not exercise proper care in administering the blood transfusions and thus denied service connection for the cause of death.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was due to an event not reasonably foreseeable, specifically a blood stream infection in his debilitated condition. As such, compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected, as it was caused by alcohol abuse rather than any service-connected condition.
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