The Board denied dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) based on service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, finding that the weight of the evidence is against a finding that any service-connected disability caused or contributed to his death.
The deciding factor: The VA clinicians' opinions supported by review of relevant lay and medical evidence found no direct link between the Veteran's in-service back injury and his causes of death (ventricular tachycardia, morbid obesity, pulmonary embolism, deep venous thrombosis, cauda equina syndrome, progressive weakness, and intractable pain).
- Claimed conditions
- Ventricular tachycardia, Morbid obesity, Pulmonary embolism, Deep venous thrombosis, Cauda equina syndrome, Progressive weakness, Intractable pain
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 27, 2019
- Citation
- 19114566
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,960 · Granted: 36% (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 19114566.
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: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for sleep apnea, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities with obesity as an intermediary step.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to errors in duty to assist, specifically regarding toxic exposure exposures during service and their impact on the Veteran's cause of death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's DVT is rated at 40 percent, but the Board has remanded to determine if an earlier effective date prior to November 18, 2019, should be granted.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's right lower extremity varicose veins, post-phlebitic syndrome, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are currently rated as 10 percent disabling. The Board found that the evidence does not support a higher rating due to lack of persistent edema or stasis pigmentation.
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