The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death, finding that no service-connected disability was a principal or contributory cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions found no reliable support for theories linking burn scars to heart disease and found no evidence that any service-connected condition contributed significantly to the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- Congestive Heart Failure, Coronary Artery Disease, Atrial Fibrillation, Diabetes Mellitus, Chronic Kidney Disease, Cerebral Vascular Accident, Colon Cancer, Gout, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, Hypothyroidism
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20073809
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,480 · Granted: 26% (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 20073809.
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 appeal was granted for various disabilities, including service connection for depressive disorder and increased evaluations for diabetic peripheral neuropathy affecting multiple nerve groups. A SMC based on need for aid and attendance was also awarded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a new VA examination focusing on his service-connected disabilities and their impact on his eligibility for benefits, as well as his need for aid and attendance.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD, along with other disabilities, has resulted in an effective date of April 7, 2022 for the award of TDIU and Dependents' Educational Assistance. The rating for obstructive sleep apnea was also granted on this date.
- Granted
Service connection for OSA is granted, and the Veteran's initial ratings for atrial fibrillation, right upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, left upper extremity peripheral neuropathy, right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, left lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, right upper extremity neuralgia, and left upper extremity neuralgia are all granted at 10 percent.
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