The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the Board denied both DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 and service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the Veteran’s nonservice-connected disabilities (specifically liver cancer and congestive heart failure) led to his pulmonary embolism, not his service-connected TBI or seizure disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute pulmonary embolism, Chronic atrial fibrillation, C coronary artery disease, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Portal vein thrombosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19124422
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 service connection of the Veteran's cause of death to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of hepatocellular carcinoma and its relation to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether his fatal hepatocellular carcinoma was related to his in-service asbestos exposure and other duties.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as a disability of service origin did not cause or contribute to his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient consideration of the appellant's claim regarding the Veteran’s cause of death, specifically his multiple parachute jumps in service and their potential connection to his portal vein thrombosis.
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