The Board found that the evidence submitted by the appellant did not meet the criteria for reopening her claim of service connection for cause of death, as it was not new and material. The veteran's cause of death was a pulmonary embolism due to arteriosclerotic heart disease.
The deciding factor: The newly received medical evidence did not provide a significant link between the veteran's service-connected rheumatoid arthritis and his cause of death from a pulmonary embolus caused by arteriosclerotic heart disease.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary embolism, arteriosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 24, 2000
- Citation
- 0019345
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 0019345.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's rheumatoid arthritis disability rating is being remanded for additional development due to significant weight loss and anemia.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for pulmonary embolism as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected status post spigelian herniorrhaphy, finding that the surgery increased her risk of developing a pulmonary embolism.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's claims for service connection for sleep apnea and hepatic steatosis have been denied. The claim for rheumatoid arthritis is being remanded.,Service connection has not been established for the claimed conditions.
- Partly granted
Service connection for rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome is granted.,Service connection for hypertension is remanded due to insufficient evidence regarding its onset in service or as a result of a disease or injury in active service.
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