The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318, finding no evidence that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities contributed to his death or that he was rated totally disabled for at least 5 years immediately preceding his death.
The deciding factor: The Board determined there was no persuasive evidence linking the Veteran's service-connected disabilities to his cause of death and that he did not meet the criteria for entitlement to DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Claimed conditions
- Degenerative joint disease with narrowing of L5-S1, Status post open fracture of third left tibia distal, Left ankle strain with degenerative arthritis, Peripheral neuropathy and radiculopathy, left lower extremity, Right lower extremity radiculopathy, Left hip strain, Patellofemoral pain syndrome, left knee, Tinnitus, Left iliac bone donor site scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2024
- Citation
- A24067645
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
- Partly granted
The Veteran was granted an effective date of July 31, 2012, for TDIU and October 22, 2012, for service connection of left and right lower extremity radiculopathy.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 17, 2019, for a 70 percent disability rating for PTSD but denied earlier effective dates for service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
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