The Veteran's cause of death, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), is not considered to be service-connected as it was not incurred or aggravated by active duty service and there is no evidence that the CJD had its onset during service. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's CJD was caused by his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran's CJD is very much less likely as not related to his active duty military service, citing the absence of psychiatric symptoms and the long incubation period typical of sporadic CJD. The disease did not manifest within a year of separation from service, precluding presumptive service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2017
- Citation
- 1705330
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 1705330.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a new medical opinion to address whether the Veteran's Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was related to his exposure to contaminated meat while serving in England.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The Veteran's claims for tinnitus, lumbar spine disorder, left knee disorder, and right knee disorder were denied as there was no evidence of a nexus to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected major depressive disorder is found to be the primary cause of her insomnia, and she is already in receipt of a 30% rating for anemia. The claims for fibromyalgia, diabetes mellitus type II, radiculopathy and peripheral neuropathy, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and mouth trauma are remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that the Veteran's claims for service connection are remanded due to missing medical records and uncorroborated in-service stressors. The VA is instructed to obtain additional records, including from SSA and private providers, and to schedule a PTSD examination if corroborated stressors are found.
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