The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his death was not caused or contributed to by any condition related to his military service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found that the principal and contributory causes of the Veteran's death were cardio-respiratory arrest due to multi-system organ failure, sepsis/malnutrition, and respiratory failure. The examiner attributed these conditions to the Veteran's infections rather than his military service or any related exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- cardio-respiratory arrest, multi-system organ failure, sepsis/malnutrition, respiratory failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 10, 2022
- Citation
- 22051697
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 22051697.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's causes of death were not found to be service-connected, as there was no credible evidence linking the conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, including hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II, are presumed to be related to his service in the Republic of Vietnam. The Board has granted service connection for these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was respiratory failure caused by hepatic failure, hepatocellular cancer, and chronic hepatitis C infection.,Service connection for the cause of death is granted as his alcohol and substance abuse were secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the severance of service connected death benefits was improper and grants the appeal.
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