Citation Nr: 18155005 Decision Date: 12/04/18 Archive Date: 12/03/18 DOCKET NO. 16-07 562 DATE: December 4, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is denied. FINDING OF FACT 1. The Veteran died in December 2009. His death certificate lists the immediate cause of death as congestive heart failure. 2. The Veteran did not have any service-connected disabilities at the time of his death. 3. The probative evidence of record does not show that the cause of the Veteran’s death, congestive heart failure, was related to his active military service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death have not been met. 38 U.S.C. § 1310; 38 C.F.R. § 3.312. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from July 1967 to July 1969. 1. Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death The appellant, the Veteran’s widow, contends that his was causally related to his military service. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against the claim and service connection for the cause of death must be denied. 38 U.S.C. § 1310; 38 C.F.R. § 3.312 (a). To establish service connection for the cause of a veteran’s death, the evidence must show that a disability incurred in or aggravated by active service was the principal or contributory cause of death. 38 U.S.C. § 1310; 38 C.F.R. § 3.312 (a). To constitute the principal cause of death, the service-connected disability must be one of the immediate or underlying causes of death, or be etiologically related to the cause of death. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312 (b). For a service-connected disability to be a contributing cause, it must have substantially or materially contributed to a veteran’s death. It is not sufficient to show that it casually shared in producing death; rather, there must be a causal connection. A contributory cause of death is inherently one not related to the principal cause. 38 U.S.C. § 1310. The Veteran's Death Certificate shows he died in December 2009; the cause of death was congestive heart failure. During service, the Veteran had his foreign service in Europe. There are no records documenting that the Veteran served in the Republic of Vietnam. Therefore, the presumptions of herbicide exposure and service connection for ischemic heart disease do not apply. 38 U.S.C. § 1113; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307, 3.309. The Veteran was not service connected for any disabilities during his lifetime. Service treatment records (STRs) show that at his July 1969 separation examination he had a scar on his right forearm with no other defects documented. The remainder of the Veteran’s STRs only document complaints of pain to the back, leg, ankle and feet. There are no complaints or findings related to a heart disability. The Veteran’s VA treatment records do not show any cardiac diagnosis that could be related to service. In July 2002, the Veteran experienced shortness of breath with a cough that was attributed to an asthma attack with exacerbation. In July 2005, the Veteran had another episode of shortness of breath that was associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In September 2005 the Veteran had an EKG that showed marked sinus bradycardia with a heartrate of 46. In August 2009, the Veteran was given examination that included a cardiovascular examination, which showed the Veteran had a regular heart rate and rhythm without a murmur, ectopy or gallop. The Veteran also had a medical history of COPD. In October 2009, two months prior to his death, the Veteran submitted a claim for service connection, specifically claiming back problems to include arthritis, asthma, emphysema, joint pains of the knees, hands, ankles and feet and an eye condition. There was no reference in that claim to any heart disability. Service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is not warranted as there is no evidence of congestive heart failure during service and no competent evidence that it is related to service. The appellant has never specifically contended, and evidence does not otherwise establish, that congestive heart failure had its onset during the Veteran’s active service many years ago. Although lay persons are competent to provide opinions on some medical issues, the cause of the Veteran’s death is outside the realm of common knowledge of a lay person because it involves complex medical issues that go beyond a simple and immediately observable cause-and-effect relationship. See Kahana v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 428 (2011); Jandreau v. Nicholson, 492 F.3d 1372, 1377 n.4 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The preponderance of the evidence is against the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death and the claim must be denied. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b). M.E. Larkin Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Perkins, Michael