The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to insufficient evidence linking his ischemic heart disease and chronic lung disease to his active duty service, including Agent Orange exposure. The appellant's statements were not considered competent medical evidence.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence did not establish a causal link between the Veteran’s diagnosed conditions (ischemic heart disease and chronic lung disease) and his active duty service, including Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic Heart Disease, Chronic Lung Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20080142
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, and neuropathy of the right and left upper and lower extremities as secondary to diabetes due to herbicide exposure during the Veteran's service in Okinawa.
- Granted
Service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, due to ischemic heart disease and coronary heart disease, is granted based on presumed exposure to herbicides during service at U-Tapao RTAFB in Thailand.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issues for further evidentiary development, including obtaining additional medical records and scheduling new examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for ischemic heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type II, and peripheral neuropathy of both upper and lower extremities due to further development needed.
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