The Board denied the claim of service connection for cause of death, finding that there was no evidence linking the Veteran's pulmonary fibrosis to his active service or his service-connected disabilities. The Board also found that the probative value of a private medical opinion was limited due to its speculative nature.
The deciding factor: The March 2019 VA examiner's opinion did not address the February 2018 private medical letter, as required by the July 2018 Board remand decision, and the examiner failed to provide a complete rationale.
- Claimed conditions
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19160627
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 19160627.
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for service connection for various conditions due to untimeliness of the Veteran's VA Form 10182 or as moot, and remanded the claim for diabetes mellitus type II.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for a higher disability rating and service connection for pulmonary fibrosis, GERD, and sinusitis.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding no evidence linking his lung cancer and other contributing causes to active duty or exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development regarding service connection for right ear hearing loss due to inadequate opinion and inaccurate factual premise. Service connection for pulmonary fibrosis remains denied.
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