The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there was no evidence to support the Veteran's exposure to herbicides in service and thus denying direct service connection. The Board also found that the Veteran’s left ear hearing loss did not contribute to his death.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence to support the Veteran's exposure to herbicides in service, precluding presumptive service connection. Service treatment records do not show any respiratory issues, and post-service treatments are too late to be related to service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute respiratory failure, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Septic shock due to pneumonia, Metastatic lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20030134
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 20030134.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher level of SMC was denied as the Board found that he is already in receipt of SMC at the (l) rate based on need for regular aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease with congestive heart failure. A second award of SMC at the (l) rate based on need for regular aid and attendance was not warranted.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no competent evidence linking any principal or contributory cause of his death to his service.
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