The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to sepsis from presumed pneumonia, liver failure, and gastrointestinal bleeding as these conditions were not shown in service or related to service.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence showing that the Veteran's causes of death had their onset during service or are otherwise causally related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- sepsis from presumed pneumonia, liver failure, gastrointestinal bleeding
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19137469
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 439 · Granted: 19% (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 19137469.
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: Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and therefore his surviving spouse is denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of his death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's non-VA emergency medical expenses incurred on February 14, 2024 are granted as the treatment was for an emergent condition (jaundice) and a VA facility was not feasibly available.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted an initial 50 percent rating for the Veteran's cirrhosis of the liver with portal hypertension, Wilson's disease, gastrointestinal bleeding, and pancreatitis based on a history of one episode of hemorrhage from portal gastropathy.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim for entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as the evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's heart condition, liver condition, or hepatitis C began during active service or were otherwise related to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
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