The Veteran's death was caused by cardiac arrhythmia, which is not service-connected. The underlying cause of death, chronic kidney disease, is also not service-connected as it resulted from the Veteran's own misconduct during service.
The deciding factor: The Veteran contracted chancroid (later changed to syphilis) due to his own misconduct and had completely healed prior to separation from service. Chronic kidney disease developed after the Veteran left service and was not linked to any service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Chancroid, Chronic Kidney Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2018
- Citation
- 1826114
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 1826114.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's initial evaluations for chronic kidney disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) have been remanded due to the need for additional development, including a VA examination.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD and Chronic Kidney Disease ratings have been restored to their previous levels of 70% and 30%, respectively, due to the failure to conduct necessary VA examinations in November 2019.
- Granted
The Veteran's chronic kidney disease is granted with an effective date of August 10, 2022. The appeal for PTSD and hypertension remains denied.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for service connection for chronic kidney disease as a complication of hypertension, finding that the issue was not within the scope of the Veteran's initial claim and there was no evidence suggesting a relationship between hypertension and chronic kidney disease until the September 2025 application.
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