The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death was not related to any service-connected disability, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The autopsy results showed hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease as the primary cause of death, which was not linked to any service-connected condition or exposure basis.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2002
- Citation
- 0201393
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 0201393.
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 cause of death, finding that his conditions were not related to his military service and did not warrant a grant based on exposure to herbicides.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a pre-decisional error in failing to obtain an opinion addressing whether the Veteran's cause of death, even if not related to toxic exposure, was related to hypertension incurred in service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's end-stage chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and obstructive sleep apnea contributed substantially or materially to his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected PTSD and/or medications for PTSD caused or contributed to his death from hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
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