The Board found that the veteran's service-connected disabilities did not cause or contribute substantially to his death. The requirements for eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance under Chapter 35, Title 38, United States Code were also not met.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence showing a direct causal relationship between the veteran's service-connected conditions and his death from cardiovascular disease.
- Claimed conditions
- Pulmonary edema, Heart failure, Hypertensive cardiovascular disease, Essential hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2000
- Citation
- 0001375
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0001375.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no evidence to support a causal relationship between the Veteran's military service and his death from gastrointestinal bleeding and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his opioid use disorder was related to his service-connected disabilities and led to his untimely death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there was not sufficient evidence to link his death to his military service or any presumptive conditions related to burn pit exposure. The Board also found no evidence linking his hypertension and cardiovascular disease to his military service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was due to acute respiratory failure, with pulmonary edema, acute renal failure, renal cell cancer, and coronary artery disease as contributing causes. The VA examiner found that the asbestos exposure did not contribute to these conditions.
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