The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the Board denied entitlement to service connection for cause of death.
The deciding factor: There is no competent evidence linking any of the conditions listed on the death certificate to service.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute hypoxic respiratory failure, Aspiration pneumonia, Dementia, Traumatic brain injury, Atrial fibrillation
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20038863
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 20038863.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of July 10, 2010, for the award of special monthly compensation based on need for regular aid and attendance due to residuals of traumatic brain injury under 38 U.S.C. 1114(t) is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD with cognitive impairment or dementia was rated at 50 percent from July 11, 2005 to March 4, 2021. From March 4, 2021, the Veteran's condition was rated at 100 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder and exposures at Camp LeJeune contributed to his cause of death. The VA must obtain an addendum opinion addressing these issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was caused by acute hypoxic respiratory failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with hypertension as a significant contributing factor. The Board finds that remand is necessary to obtain the Veteran's complete military records and treatment records.
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