The Board found that the veteran did not have service-connected disabilities at the time of his death, and thus could not establish service connection for purposes of accrued benefits for heart disease, arthritis, asthma, numbness of the legs and arms, or PTB. The cause of death was listed as cardiopulmonary arrest, but there is no evidence linking this to service.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the veteran did not have any service-connected disabilities at the time of his death, which precludes establishing service connection for purposes of accrued benefits for these conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- heart disease, arthritis, asthma, numbness of the legs and arms, pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 30, 2002
- Citation
- 0213222
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 0213222.
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 granted service connection for asthma and remanded claims for insomnia and sleep apnea. Other conditions were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including sinusitis, elbows condition, cervical condition, erectile dysfunction, kidney condition, sleep apnea, wrists condition, asthma, shoulders condition, ankles condition, eye condition (bilateral dry macular degeneration), peripheral vascular disease (heart condition), and rhinitis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the appeal to obtain a VA medical opinion that considers the Veteran's contentions of in-service training with heavy gear and equipment.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma but denied it for hypertension.
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