The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between the Veteran's listed cause of death (closed head injury due to or consequence of a MVA) and his active military service.
The deciding factor: There is no probative medical evidence establishing a causal relationship between the Veteran’s death from closed head injury and active service.
- Claimed conditions
- closed head injury, alcohol intoxication
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 6, 2018
- Citation
- 18131875
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 18131875.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for vertigo and remanded the other issues on appeal.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for coronary artery disease as secondary to herbicide exposure under the PACT Act. The claims for stroke, epilepsy, and closed head injury are remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's unauthorized medical expenses incurred at Lakewood Hospital from November 15, 2011 to November 17, 2011 are now covered by VA due to the emergency nature of his treatment and the unavailability of VA facilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to accept the Veteran's VA Form 10182 as a timely Notice of Disagreement in the Legacy review system and will proceed with hearing testimony. However, a remand is required to issue a Statement of the Case (SOC) for both issues.
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