The Board denied the claim of service connection for cause of death, finding that the Veteran's death was due to natural causes and not related to his service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found it impossible to link the cause of death to the Veteran’s service-connected conditions without an autopsy, which contradicted what was noted on the death certificate.
- Claimed conditions
- duodenal ulcer with gastroenterostomy, gunshot wound to the left abdominal, amputation of the left index finger, gunshot wound to the left forearm, gunshot wound to the right leg, prostatitis
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20066384
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 20066384.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal seeking to establish entitlement to a TDIU prior to July 30, 2019 and basic eligibility for DEA under 38 USC chapter 35 is dismissed as the pending Legacy system appeal fully encompasses and exceeds the scope of this AMA version of the issues.
- Granted
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's claim of service connection for hyperlipidemia. Service connection is granted for cervical strain, prostatitis, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), including as secondary to PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for prostate cancer and prostatitis due to potential exposure at Fort Dix and Schofield Barracks. The AOJ must consider these contentions and provide proper notice and assistance.
- Granted
The Veteran's prostatitis is related to his toxic exposures during active duty service, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
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