The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death and DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318, finding that there was no evidence linking any service-connected disability to his death.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided did not establish a nexus between the claimed in-service disease or injury (PTSD) and the cause of death (multiple gunshot wounds, law enforcement interaction, desire to commit suicide).
- Claimed conditions
- Multiple gunshot wounds, Desire to commit suicide
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 12, 2019
- Citation
- 19145630
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 317 · 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 19145630.
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.
- Denied
The Board found that the cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, not related to service or any service-connected disability. The appellant's claims for DIC based on service connection were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for retroactive election of payment of VA disability compensation in lieu of military retirement pay, effective March 1, 1969. The decision stated that the option to elect such compensation should not be made retroactive.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities render him so helpless as to be in need of regular aid and attendance, warranting an increase in special monthly compensation (SMC) based upon the need of aid and attendance.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for retroactive election of payment of VA disability compensation in lieu of military retirement pay, effective March 1, 1969, as he did not file a timely waiver of his military retirement pay.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.