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Whole decision: Granted

The Board has determined that the appellant timely perfected an appeal of the November 1998 rating action denying service connection for the cause of the veteran's death. The decision is granted.

The deciding factor: The appellant's claim was timely filed after a statement of the case was sent to her old address, and she submitted a VA Form 646 in April 2001 as a substantive appeal.

Claimed conditions
Nicotine dependence, Heart disease
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating
Not verified here — check the original decision
Decision date
September 18, 2002
Citation
0212424

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 0212424.

What this means for you

A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.

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.

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