The Board denied the Veteran's claim for dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) benefits, finding that his cause of death is unrelated to his service-connected disabilities.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by VA physicians concluded that the Veteran’s cause of death was not related to his service-connected conditions, including the plate inserted into his head due to a skull fracture in service.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of skull fracture, traumatic encephalopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 15, 2021
- Citation
- 21014628
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 21014628.
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 claims for service connection for peripheral neuropathy and traumatic encephalopathy to afford the Veteran VA examinations.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death is not related to his service-connected disabilities, specifically residuals of skull fracture and traumatic encephalopathy. The Board found no evidence linking the Veteran’s death to these conditions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including clarifying whether certain findings are residuals of service-connected disabilities and conducting appropriate examinations.
- Denied
The Veteran's fibromyalgia, cervical strain, degenerative joint disease of the left hip, and nasal fracture with deviated septum have been rated based on their current severity. The scar from the iliac crest bone graft has also been evaluated.,Service connection for residuals of a skull fracture is denied.
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