The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that his death was not caused by or substantially related to any condition of service origin.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing a causal relationship between the veteran's service-connected disability and his death from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which was due to smoking. The Board also found no evidence linking the veteran's prisoner of war experiences to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2001
- Citation
- 0110638
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0110638.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a heart condition, including ischemic heart disease. The evidence did not support a finding of a current disability related to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's ischemic heart disease is granted as presumptively related to his service in the Gulf War, specifically aboard the USS Chanticleer and USS Mataco.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a heart disability prior to his death is granted as he was entitled to accrued benefits due to the September 1994 claim, which included ischemic heart disease, a covered herbicide disease.
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