The veteran's death was due to cardiac sudden death, which is not service-connected. The service-connected nummular eczema and stasis dermatitis did not contribute to the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The VA cardiologist concluded that the veteran's service-connected conditions were not causally related to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiac sudden death, ventricular tachycardia, dilated cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 7, 2001
- Citation
- 0127118
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 0127118.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The claim for payment of non-VA emergency medical care provided to the Veteran at William Beaumont Hospital from October 8, 2020, to October 11, 2020, was denied due to untimely filing.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's implantable cardiac pacemaker is granted as secondary to his service-connected atrial fibrillation. However, the Veteran's ventricular tachycardia is denied as not being related to his service-connected hypertension.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for sleep apnea and an initial compensable rating for hypertension due to errors in obtaining relevant evidence and developing the record.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted an initial evaluation of 30 percent for the period from September 20, 2022 to June 13, 2023 and a 60 percent evaluation from October 1, 2023, but denied an earlier effective date prior to September 20, 2022.
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