The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no evidence linking his severe respiratory acidosis, respiratory failure, and metabolic encephalopathy to his military service.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical opinion that links the causes of death to service or any service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Severe respiratory acidosis, Respiratory failure, Metabolic encephalopathy of unknown etiology
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2021
- Citation
- 21003619
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 21003619.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no competent evidence linking any principal or contributory cause of his death to his service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death to consider additional evidence regarding exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted the claim for Death and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) based on service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, due to his in-service exposures to herbicides and extreme cold temperatures.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion regarding the Veteran's cause of death, specifically addressing whether his respiratory failure, septic shock, hemorrhagic shock, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, and chronic osteomyelitis of the right leg were related to in-service toxic exposure or an in-service right leg injury.
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