The veteran's appeal for service connection for arteriosclerotic heart disease and its residuals, which were claimed to be secondary to nicotine dependence and tobacco use during service, has been dismissed due to the death of the veteran.
The deciding factor: The veteran died before a decision could be made on his claim, thus the Board had no jurisdiction over the matter.
- Claimed conditions
- arteriosclerotic heart disease, residuals of a stroke
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 8, 2001
- Citation
- 0103971
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 0103971.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
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 arteriosclerotic heart disease, finding that the evidence is within approximate balance that it was caused by toxic exposure during service in Southwest Asia.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating or service connection.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for chronic headaches and denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss. The remaining claims were remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus, a heart condition, and residuals of a stroke for further development.
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