The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death was not caused by or related to his military service, including any exposure to herbicides. The Board also found no service-connected disability at the time of his death.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of actual in-service herbicide exposure and the medical opinions do not support a connection between the Veteran's conditions and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory failure, sepsis, CAD (Coronary Artery Disease), COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 8, 2018
- Citation
- 1828351
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 1828351.
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 CAD warrants a 60 percent rating, but the Board has determined that an earlier effective date is warranted due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding direct service connection.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, kidney cancer, is not service-connected. The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service or a service-connected disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's causes of death were not found to be service-connected, as there was no credible evidence linking the conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating of 100 percent for CAD was granted effective November 28, 2023. The effective date is based on the date of a VA examination showing the increase in disability.
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