The Veteran's death was not service-connected as the cause of death, and his service-connected disability did not contribute substantially or materially to his death.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the cause of death could not be established due to lack of a medical relationship between the service-connected condition and the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- triple arthrodesis of the left foot, end stage heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- January 9, 2018
- Citation
- 1801475
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 1801475.
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 has remanded the case due to a failure to fully develop the claim regarding possible exposure to herbicide agents and chemicals during service. The Veteran's cause of death is being reviewed, as well as potential secondary service connection for depression causing heart disease.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for end stage heart failure status post left ventricular assist device cannot be reopened as there is no new and material evidence presented.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the case to obtain additional medical records and determine if the Veteran's service-connected left foot disability contributed substantially or materially to his death.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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