The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death, finding that no service-connected condition contributed substantially or materially to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a finding that any service-connected conditions caused or contributed significantly to the Veteran’s death.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral pneumonia – mixed bacterial, Dilated cardiomyopathy, Renal failure, Dementia, Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 10, 2018
- Citation
- 18156565
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 18156565.
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 Veteran's PTSD with cognitive impairment or dementia was rated at 50 percent from July 11, 2005 to March 4, 2021. From March 4, 2021, the Veteran's condition was rated at 100 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder and exposures at Camp LeJeune contributed to his cause of death. The VA must obtain an addendum opinion addressing these issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for further development regarding toxic exposures and a VA examination.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection for cause of death.
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