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 assigned
- None in this 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0208630.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for coronary artery disease, which is presumed related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, type II, left eye diabetic retinopathy, left foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, right foot diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and coronary artery disease, as well as the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for coronary artery disease to correct duty to assist errors, as there are no adequate medical opinions of record.
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