The Veteran's cause of death is denied as there is no evidence linking his Parkinson's disease, stroke, and coronary artery disease to service or exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: A VA medical opinion concluded that it is less likely than not that the Veteran’s causes of death were incurred in service or caused by an in-service event.
- Claimed conditions
- Parkinson's disease, stroke, coronary artery disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19162531
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,240 · Granted: 28% (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 19162531.
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 Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the (o) rate and SMC at the (r)(2) rate, effective January 19, 2025. The decision finds that the Veteran's service-connected conditions warrant these awards due to his need for aid and attendance.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the Veteran meets the basic medical eligibility criteria for PCAFC benefits due to his need for personal care services based on symptoms or residuals of neurological or other impairment or injury. However, further clinical evaluation is needed to determine if participation in the program is in the Veteran's best interest.
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