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Denied

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.

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