The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to nicotine dependence as it is barred by law.
The deciding factor: The appellant's claim was received after June 9, 1998, when a new statutory provision prohibited the granting of service connection for diseases or causes of death based upon the use of tobacco products in claims filed thereafter.
- Claimed conditions
- Nicotine Dependence, Heart Failure, Cardiac Artery Disease, Metastatic Lung Cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 27, 2001
- Citation
- 0105799
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 0105799.
What this means for you
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- Remanded (sent back)
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- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claim for congestive heart failure is denied as the condition is not related to toxic exposures during active service or secondary to a service-connected disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by service-connected conditions or toxic exposures.,The Board found that the cause of death (pulmonary fibrosis, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation) is less likely than not related to active duty service.
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