The Veteran's death in January 2015 was not related to service, and therefore his claim for service connection for the cause of his death is denied.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no evidence linking the Veteran’s hypertension or other conditions to service, and thus denied the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- essential (primary) hypertension, malignant neoplasm of the esophagus, secondary malignant neoplasm of the lung, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20002315
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for right foot, left elbow, left hip, left ankle, and diabetes mellitus to obtain additional medical evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cervical spine condition, diabetes mellitus, heart condition, lumbar spine condition, and urinary frequency and voiding condition as there was no evidence of a current diagnosis or in-service incurrence or aggravation.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for blood clots to afford the Veteran a VA examination and obtain a medical opinion regarding the etiology of his condition, as he has a history of lower extremity blood clots and participated in toxic exposure risk activities during service.
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