The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no evidence that his cardiomyopathy or other conditions were related to military service, including exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: There was insufficient medical evidence linking the Veteran's cardiomyopathy and other conditions to his military service, particularly given the lack of documentation of such conditions during service and in the years following discharge.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiomyopathy, diabetes mellitus type II, hypertensive heart disease with heart failure and nephropathy, monoclonal gammopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 15, 2025
- Citation
- 25005099
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 Board denied service connection for coronary atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type II, and penile cancer as there was no evidence of a medical nexus between the Veteran's conditions and his military service.
- Partly granted
The appeal was granted for the severance of service connection for hypertension and entitlement to service connection for a heart disability (claimed as cardiomyopathy) associated with hypertension. The claim for an initial compensable rating for hypertension was remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter to correct a pre-decisional duty-to-assist error, specifically to verify the Veteran's assertion of herbicide exposure while working on C-123 aircraft at Clark Air Base from May 1965 to November 1966.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, right hip degenerative joint disease and rheumatoid arthritis with acetabular cyst status post right total hip replacement, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, hypertension, prostate cancer, diabetes mellitus type II, fever sores, and a compromised immune system, as the evidence did not support a finding of service connection for any of these conditions.
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