The Board found that the Veteran's death was not proximately caused by carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment, or similar instance of fault on the part of VA. The evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's discharge from the hospital was due to negligence or carelessness.
The deciding factor: The Board found no evidence indicating that the Veteran’s death was caused by any fault on the part of VA personnel in providing medical care, and concluded that the timing of the myocardial infarction was not predictable and unlikely to have been different in any other setting.
- Claimed conditions
- Arteriosclerotic heart disease, Hypertensive cardiovascular disease, Diabetes mellitus, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20007406
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the R(1) rate due to his need for regular aid and attendance.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding no evidence that his death was related to any injury or disease in service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
- Partly granted
The Board denied a rating higher than 60 percent for the Veteran's heart disabilities and granted service connection for major vascular neurocognitive disorder, but denied special monthly compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(l).
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