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
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 denied increased ratings for hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus; granted service connection for erectile dysfunction and skin cancer; and restored the 10 percent rating for hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and systemic lupus erythematosus as there was no evidence of onset during active service or etiological relationship to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for rheumatoid arthritis was dismissed due to a untimely notice of disagreement. The left knee disorder claim is remanded for further action.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of a 70 percent rating for PTSD and granted an effective date of May 31, 2004, but no earlier, for the award of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU).
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