The Veteran's death was caused by pseudomonas septicemia due to right leg cellulitis, and the service-connected disabilities did not contribute substantially or materially to his death. Therefore, service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is denied.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran had diabetes or coronary artery disease prior to his death, which are necessary to establish contributory causation.
- Claimed conditions
- pseudomonas septicemia, right leg cellulitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2020
- Citation
- 20006406
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.
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The Veteran's right leg cellulitis was granted a 10 percent disability rating prior to June 15, 2020, but denied for an increase from that date. The claim for TDIU was also denied.
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