The Board found that the cause of death was not related to service or VA treatment, and denied the claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: The doctor's opinion supported by sufficient reasoning indicated no evidence of negligence in VA medical treatment causing the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- Clostridium difficile colitis, Tracheobronchitis, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 11, 2018
- Citation
- 18141720
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 18141720.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed, and the claims for a compensable rating for the lower back scar, service connection for COPD, and peripheral artery disease were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, COPD, a gastrointestinal disability, and migraines due to lack of evidence supporting a link between these conditions and her military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a right knee disability, as there was no probative evidence showing that these conditions had their onset during active service or were related to an in-service event, injury, or disease.
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