The Board denied the appeal for service connection for cause of death due to lack of a timely substantive appeal. The claim was reopened based on new and material evidence, but service connection could not be established as there was no in-service incurrence or medical nexus between any of the conditions that caused the Veteran's death and his military service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the appellant did not file a timely substantive appeal for the July 2011 rating decision denying service connection for cause of death, thus the appeal was denied. The claim was reopened based on new evidence submitted by the appellant, but no causal link between any of the conditions listed on the Certificate of Death and military service could be established.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal bleeding, Esophageal varices, Hepatic cirrhosis, Hepatic failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19100217
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 Board remands the claims for service connection for the cause of death and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) to correct a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error, as the VA examinations are inadequate.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a new medical opinion to address the nature and etiology of the Veteran's cause of death, specifically regarding its relation to presumed herbicide agent exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding no evidence linking his respiratory failure, pneumonia, malignant neoplasm of the esophagus, gastrointestinal bleeding, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to his military service, including exposure to herbicides and Camp Lejeune contaminated water.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
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