The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death, end-stage COPD, was not related to his service-connected back disability and thus denied service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing a connection between the veteran's service-connected back condition and his death from COPD.
- Claimed conditions
- end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 11, 2002
- Citation
- 0214188
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 0214188.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
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.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran died from end-stage COPD with congestive heart failure. The appellant seeks higher pension rates and service connection for the cause of death, but her claims are denied.,The Board found no evidence linking the Veteran's death to his service-connected conditions or any other condition.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board found that the causes of the Veteran's death were not related to service-connected disabilities, including his combat wounds sustained in August 1944. The Board determined that these injuries did not play a material causal role in the Veteran's death or substantially worsened any other condition leading to his death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the case to obtain terminal hospital records from Saint Edward Mercy Medical Center for the time period immediately preceding the veteran's death on March 22, 1999.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the appellant's claim that her husband's death was caused by his service-connected conditions, finding no evidence linking the cause of death to service or a service-connected condition.
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