The Board denied the claim of service connection for cause of death, finding that there was no evidence linking the Veteran's conditions to his service-connected disabilities or to herbicide exposure. The primary causes of death were not related to service.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence linking the Veteran’s primary or secondary causes of death to herbicide exposure or the presumptive diseases related to Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive neurosis, chronic respiratory failure, aspiration pneumonia, stroke, dementia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19181254
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.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied, except for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss disability which were granted. The veteran was also granted service connection for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the death of the appellant.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for dementia, finding that it was aggravated by the Veteran's service-connected hearing loss disability.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right middle knuckle disability, dry eye syndrome, bilateral foot disability, cervical spine disability, radiculopathy of the upper extremities, and anxiety disorder. The claim for a stroke was denied, as well as an increased rating for respiratory disability prior to December 8, 2021.
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