The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected, and he did not meet the criteria for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
The deciding factor: There is no probative medical evidence that indicates the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused or contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory failure, pulmonary tuberculosis, community-acquired pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19104562
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 claim for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's acute hypoxemia, respiratory failure, and pneumonia were related to service or toxic exposure under the PACT Act.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding that his service-connected pulmonary tuberculosis was at least as likely as not a contributory cause of his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain additional evidence, including service treatment records and private medical records, and to obtain an addendum medical opinion regarding the Veteran's causes of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, for purposes of entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors.
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