The Veteran's cause of death was listed as aspiration pneumonia and cerebral vascular accident with contributory causes listed as chronic debility and chronic obstructive lung disease. The Board found that the preponderance of evidence is against a finding that any service-connected disability caused or contributed to his death.
The deciding factor: There were no in-service events, injuries, or diseases that led to the Veteran's cause of death, which included aspiration pneumonia, cerebral vascular accident, chronic debility, and chronic obstructive lung disease. The Board found that these conditions did not have their onset during service or are otherwise causally related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- aspiration pneumonia, cerebral vascular accident, chronic debility, chronic obstructive lung disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 24, 2019
- Citation
- A19002190
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,432 · Granted: 29% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation A19002190.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death is attributed to multiple conditions, including chronic obstructive lung disease. The Board has decided that the service connection for the cause of death must be remanded due to a duty-to-assist error.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates are being remanded due to the need for additional VA treatment records, including those from the Miami VAMC and scanned into VistA.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for exostosis right foot and bilateral plantar fasciitis, but denied service connection for hysterectomy, left shoulder pain, right shoulder pain, dysmenorrhea, chronic obstructive lung disease, female sexual arousal disorder, and a foot callus.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion regarding the etiologies of the Veteran's depression, alcohol use disorder, hypertension, and COPD in relation to his cause of death.
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