The Veteran's cause of death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by a service-connected disability. The Board found that the Veteran's respiratory and heart conditions were not related to his military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the Veteran’s COPD, which is not a presumptive condition for Agent Orange exposure, was more likely due to smoking rather than in-service occupational exposures or diesel exhaust fumes.
- Claimed conditions
- respiratory failure, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, atriial fibrillation, renal failure, cirrhosis of the liver, thrombocytopenia, hypoxemia, cardiac arrest
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 5, 2021
- Citation
- 21027360
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 21027360.
What this means for you
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- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by any service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for cause of death.
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