The Veteran's death was not service-connected as the cause of death due to cardiorespiratory arrest, acute hypoxemic respiratory failure from COVID-19. The VA medical care provided did not meet fault or foreseeability criteria.
The deciding factor: The VA medical care provided met standard of care and there was no evidence of negligence or unforeseeable outcomes.
- Claimed conditions
- COVID-19 pneumonia, septic shock, cerebrovascular accident, acute kidney injury, secondary bacterial pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 20, 2024
- Citation
- A24058647
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 A24058647.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error and obtain a new medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's service, his death, and any service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence showing a link between any service-connected disability and the Veteran's death. The conditions listed on his death certificate were not related to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected hypertension, cerebrovascular accident, and coronary artery disease are found to be causally linked to his ME/CFS. Service connection for ME/CFS is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for hypertension due to herbicide exposure in Guam. The cause of death and DIC claims are remanded as the Veteran's hypertension may have caused or aggravated his other conditions.
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