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Denied

The Veteran's child had various birth defects, but did not have spina bifida. The mother was not a Vietnam veteran and thus the Veteran is not eligible for benefits under 38 U.S.C. �� 1805 or 1815.

The deciding factor: The Veteran's child did not have spina bifida, which is required for eligibility under 38 U.S.C. �� 1805 and 1815. The mother was not a Vietnam veteran, so she does not qualify as a Vietnam veteran for the purposes of these benefits.

Claimed conditions
cerebral hypoxia, congenital heart disease (pseudo truncus arteriosus with high intraventricular septal defect, right auricular and ventricular hypertrophy, and patent ductus arteriosus), extrahepatic biliary atresia, acute pulmonary congestion and edema with atelectasis, micro-ophthalmia with absence of optic nerves bilaterally, congenital ectodermal defect of the scalp, super numerary digit of the fifth finger of the left hand, status repair of omphalocele and excision of Meckel's diverticulum, bilateral pleural effusions with ascites, cleft palate with hair lip
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
October 6, 2022
Citation
A22020454

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 A22020454.

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