The Board denied the claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the diagnosed conditions were not related to his active service.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence linking the diagnosed conditions (fibrosis of the lungs and gastric antrum, AIDS, severe malnutrition, and disseminated mycobacterium avium intracellulare) to the Veteran's active service, including exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- fibrosis of the lungs, gastric antrum, AIDS, severe malnutrition, disseminated mycobacterium avium intracellulare
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2018
- Citation
- 1801853
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1801853.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for fibrosis of the lungs as there is no currently diagnosed respiratory disability apart from the Veteran's already service-connected chronic cough of unknown etiology.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not related to his active military service, and the Board denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of nexus between the Veteran's cause of death and active service, but will consider whether exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam was a contributory or principal cause of death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his death to service or exposure to Agent Orange. The preponderance of the evidence did not support a finding that any disability caused by service-connected conditions contributed to his death.
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