The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the Board denied DIC benefits under both 38 U.S.C. § 1310 (for cause of death) and 38 U.S.C. § 1318 (for non-service-connected compensation).
The deciding factor: The evidence did not show that any of the conditions leading to the Veteran's death were incurred in or related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiopulmonary arrest, end stage liver disease and liver cirrhosis, polysubstance abuse
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 6, 2021
- Citation
- 21027769
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 21027769.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death was linked to his service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed to correct pre-decisional duty to assist errors and remands the case for further action on service connection and TDIU issues.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that there was no evidence linking any of the immediate or contributing causes of his death to his period of active duty service. The Board also found that the PACT Act did not apply in this case as the Veteran served prior to the period when herbicide agents were presumed used.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for cause of death and DIC benefits due to a failure to obtain a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's conditions, including his thyroid cancer and diabetes. The appellant is seeking service connection based on Agent Orange exposure.
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