The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected, as the evidence does not support a finding that his cardiorespiratory arrest, septic shock, renal failure and cirrhosis were related to his military service or specifically to Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion found no connection between the Veteran's conditions and his service or Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiorespiratory arrest, septic shock, renal failure, cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 27, 2020
- Citation
- 20069394
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a VA medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including medications taken therefor, were a substantial or contributing factor in his death.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including renal failure, sleep apnea, erectile dysfunction, blackout spells, swelling of the eyelids, diminished eyesight, sleep deprivation, and bladder incontinence. The Board also denied a rating in excess of 10 percent for left ankle tendonitis associated with residual scar.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, for purposes of entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), as further development is necessary.
- Dismissed
The appeal regarding service connection for renal failure was dismissed because the claim was fully granted by a VA rating decision, which resulted in the Veteran being awarded service connection for kidney transplant status-post acute renal failure.
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