The Board denied service connection for the cause of death, finding that neither rheumatoid arthritis nor any other service-connected condition caused or contributed to the Veteran's death. The loss of use of both feet was found to be a contributing factor but not the primary cause.
The deciding factor: Service connection could not be established as there was no evidence showing that rheumatoid arthritis had its onset in service, and it did not contribute substantially or materially to the Veteran’s death.
- Claimed conditions
- Loss of Use of Both Feet (due to fractured left femur), Rheumatoid Arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19136587
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 19136587.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, bilateral upper extremities pain, an acquired psychiatric disorder (depression), and squamous cell carcinoma of the anus as secondary to service-connected hepatitis C. However, psoriatic arthritis was denied.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran does not meet the criteria for eligibility under the PCAFC program due to his ability to perform activities of daily living and lack of need for personal care services.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection of posttraumatic stress disorder, persistent depressive disorder, traumatic brain injury, right ear hearing loss, tinnitus, and migraine headaches were granted effective July 30, 2015. The claim for service connection of bronchitis was denied as there is no evidence of a current disability. Claims for cervical strain and rheumatoid arthritis are remanded due to duty to assist errors.
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