The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected, as it was caused by alcohol abuse rather than any service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the Veteran’s alcohol use during his final years was the primary and sole cause of his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Anoxic encephalopathy, Respiratory arrest
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19157722
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 19157722.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death on a direct basis, finding that there was not sufficient evidence to establish causation due to VA medical care. The Veteran's death was attributed to transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), which is a known complication of blood transfusions.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was caused by anoxic encephalopathy and secondary causes, including aspiration pneumonia, cerebrovascular accident, and ischemic cardiomyopathy. The cause of death is not related to his active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to incomplete VA treatment records and a need for an addendum medical opinion regarding the cause of death.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was caused by complications of a blood transfusion, specifically Transfusion Related Acute Lung Injury (TRALI). The Board found that the VA did not exercise proper care in administering the blood transfusions and thus denied service connection for the cause of death.
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