The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for the cause of death due to tobacco use during service, but it is not well grounded as there is no medical evidence showing that tobacco use caused or contributed significantly to the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: No competent medical evidence shows that the veteran's tobacco use in service was a principal or contributory cause of his death from cardiorespiratory arrest secondary to pneumonia.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiorespiratory arrest, pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 23, 2000
- Citation
- 0027949
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 0027949.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and asthma as causes of death. The evidence did not support finding that these conditions were related to his service-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was caused by cardiorespiratory arrest and metastatic esophageal cancer. The appellant is recognized as the surviving spouse, but service connection for cause of death remains pending due to insufficient information on in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and pneumonia due to insufficient evidence in the record. The Veteran's current diagnoses are not supported by the medical records provided.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there was no evidence linking the Veteran's cardiorespiratory arrest to his military service or a service-connected disability.
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