The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of her husband's death and eligibility for dependent's educational assistance, finding that the veteran's death was not caused by his service-connected disability or due to tobacco use during service.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence established that the veteran's service-connected disability did not cause or contribute substantially or materially to his death. The Board also found that the appellant did not meet the statutory criteria for eligibility for dependent's educational assistance under Chapter 35, Title 38, United States Code.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a gunshot wound of the right chest with avulsion of the pectoralis major muscle, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), coronary artery disease, HBP (high blood pressure)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 30, 2002
- Citation
- 0208630
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 0208630.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction is granted on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicide agents during his active duty in Korea.
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