The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the original claim. The evidence did not show a direct link between the veteran's active service or his service-connected varicose veins and his fatal condition.
The deciding factor: The evidence received since the last denial was essentially duplicative of previous evidence and failed to establish a new, significant connection between the veteran's death and his military service or any service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- gram negative septicemia, cerebral vascular accident
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2002
- Citation
- 0201791
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 0201791.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and effective dates are being remanded due to the need for additional VA treatment records, including those from the Miami VAMC and scanned into VistA.
- Whole decision: Granted
The veteran's service-connected PTSD and other disabilities qualify him for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and special monthly compensation based on housebound status.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypertension with secondary cerebral vascular accident and residuals, as well as a lung disorder to include as due to exposure to herbicide agents, asbestos, and exhaust fumes. The claims were based on direct evidence of the conditions rather than presumptive or secondary service connection.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there is no evidence linking any of his service-connected disabilities to his causes of death.
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