The Board denied the appellant's claims for non-service-connected death pension benefits, Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits, and accrued benefits owed to the widow of the deceased veteran due to insufficient evidence showing 90 days of active service.
The deciding factor: The veteran did not meet the statutory requirement of having at least 90 days of active duty for non-service-connected death pension eligibility. The Board found that his service was six days short of the required 90-day period and that he was discharged due to a pre-existing knee disorder, which prevented him from meeting the minimum physical standards for enlistment.
- Claimed conditions
- Right Knee Disorder, Left Knee Degenerative Joint Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 21, 2001
- Citation
- 0116841
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 0116841.
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 appeal for a higher initial rating for bilateral hearing loss and remanded issues related to service connection for knee and lumbar spine disorders.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial rating in excess of 10 percent for dermatitis and remanded the service connection claim for a right knee disorder.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension, and tinnitus. The claims for increased ratings for right shoulder degenerative arthritis, thoracolumbar spine degenerative arthritis, left knee degenerative joint disease, and right knee degenerative arthritis were denied. An effective date of April 23, 2021, was granted for the award of a 100 percent evaluation for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and special monthly compensation based on the need for regular aid and attendance.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and allergic rhinitis and chronic sinusitis, but denied service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease, left hand disorder, right knee disorder.
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