The Veteran's cause of death was listed as aspiration pneumonia. The Board found that the preponderance of evidence did not support a finding that his death was related to his service-connected bilateral hearing loss, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: There is no reasonable possibility that VA medical nexus opinion could substantiate the Appellant's claim as there is no evidence linking aspiration pneumonia to the Veteran’s service-connected bilateral hearing loss.
- Claimed conditions
- aspiration pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19123758
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,874 · Granted: 33% (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 19123758.
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 Board has remanded the case due to a lack of evidence regarding the Veteran's service in Guam or American Samoa, which could affect his presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure under the PACT Act.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have precluded him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment since March 30, 2020. The Board has granted a TDIU for this period.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the cause was not related to active service or any incident of service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claimed conditions, including aspiration pneumonia, loss of balance, genital infection, rash and/or itching, and bladder and bowel control issues, are not considered to be caused by VA treatment or lack thereof. The Board finds that the evidence does not support a finding that these conditions were increased as a result of VA care.
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