The Veteran's death was not caused by VA medical treatment or hospital care, and the preponderance of evidence does not support a finding that his death was due to any fault on the part of VA. The criteria for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 and 38 U.S.C. § 1318 are not met.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's death was not caused by VA medical treatment or hospital care, and there is no evidence of fault on the part of VA.
- Claimed conditions
- Pneumonia, Chronic Respiratory Failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 24, 2021
- Citation
- 21070630
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 21070630.
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 service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that none of the listed causes were related to his military service and no service-connected disability contributed to his death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for cause of death, finding that his service-connected conditions did not contribute to his death. The evidence showed well-controlled heart symptoms prior to death and no causal relationship between anxiety and cardiopulmonary disease or renal failure.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 were not met.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain an adequate opinion regarding the Veteran's cause of death, specifically addressing toxic exposures during service and submitted medical literature.
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