The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no direct evidence linking his death to service. The Board also found that he did not engage in combat with the enemy during service and thus could not establish service connection based on this theory.
The deciding factor: There is no direct medical nexus between any of the Veteran’s causes of death and his military service, nor does there exist evidence showing that they were caused by a combat injury sustained during service.
- Claimed conditions
- cardio-pulmonary arrest, severe metabolic acidosis, acute renal failure, hypovolemic, upper gastrointestinal bleeding
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19124192
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,645 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19124192.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, including hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II, are presumed to be related to his service in the Republic of Vietnam. The Board has granted service connection for these conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by or the result of any service-connected condition, and there is no evidence to support a presumption of service connection due to herbicide exposure. The Board denied both the claim for service connection for the cause of death and the claim for burial benefits.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and the Board denied service connection for cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service in the Republic of Vietnam is presumed, and thus his exposure to herbicides is also presumed. The decision now requires a medical opinion regarding whether these exposures are related to his cause of death.
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