The veteran's death was due to post-operative complications, and the appellant is not entitled to DIC benefits as she remarried after her husband's death.
The deciding factor: DIC benefits are not payable to a surviving spouse who remarries after their spouse's death.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of gunshot wound injury, anxiety disorder, shoulder muscle injury, digestive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 8, 2002
- Citation
- 0203174
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 0203174.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for sleep disturbances, to include obstructive sleep apnea, as secondary to an anxiety disorder. The increased rating claim for the anxiety disorder was denied, and the heart condition claim was dismissed.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for depression, PTSD, and an anxiety disorder due to the lack of a current diagnosis.
- Partly granted
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for anxiety disorder and denied service connection for hearing loss. The claims for service connection for GERD, right ankle limitations, and sinusitis were remanded for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board dismissed the appeal for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disability (TDIU) and remanded several issues related to increased ratings for various disabilities.
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