The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, concluding that there is no indication that a pulmonary embolism was related to active service or that any of the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities were a contributory cause of death.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not indicate that the fatal pulmonary embolism was related to active service and the probative evidence weighs against a finding that any service-connected disability contributed substantially or materially to the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- dementia, diabetes mellitus, right ankle disability, bilateral knee disabilities, bilateral hip disabilities, lumbar spine disability, right leg shortening
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- June 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19145205
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,890 · Granted: 32% (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 19145205.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for additional development, including a new VA examination to assess his bilateral knee and hip disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a lumbar spine disability, left lower extremity radiculopathy, and right lower extremity radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
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