The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that there was no competent medical evidence linking his service-connected ankylosing spondylitis to his death from arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence showing a link between the veteran's service-connected ankylosing spondylitis and his cause of death (arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease).
- Claimed conditions
- Marie-Strumpell ankylosing spondylitis, peptic ulcer disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 20, 2000
- Citation
- 0019144
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 0019144.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for peptic ulcer disease and denied service connection for a low back disability, with some issues remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, as well as remanded several other claims for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for a gastrointestinal condition and entitlement to TDIU due to missing or destroyed service treatment records, requiring additional development.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for peptic ulcer disease and pelvic congestion syndrome, and assigned initial ratings of 70%, 30%, 60%, 30%, 40%, and 10% for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), dermatitis, migraines, lumbosacral strain, and left lower extremity radiculopathy respectively. The Board remanded the claim of an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for costochondritis.
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