The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death on the merits, finding that there was no evidence linking his death to any condition incurred or aggravated during active service.
The deciding factor: There were no service-connected disabilities found in the veteran's records and the medical evidence did not support a link between his conditions and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive heart disease, pulmonary tuberculosis, rheumatoid arthritis, anemia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 17, 2002
- Citation
- 0212285
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 0212285.
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 denied service connection for a vitamin D deficiency and remanded claims for coronary artery disease, status post femoral bypass, chronic kidney disease, and anemia due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus; granted service connection for erectile dysfunction and skin cancer; and restored the 10 percent rating for hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral pes planus, anemia, and gastritis as the conditions were not shown to be related to or aggravated by service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a heart condition to obtain an addendum opinion from a VA clinician regarding whether the Veteran's current heart condition is related to service, including in-service treatment for hypertension.
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