The Board found that the veteran's death was not proximately due to or the result of a service-connected disease or injury.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the cause of the veteran's death could not be established as his death was not caused by any service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiorespiratory arrest, pulmonary congestion, congestive heart failure, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2002
- Citation
- 0216634
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 0216634.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- 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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no evidence that the Veteran was exposed to herbicides during his service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an initial 30 percent rating for the Veteran's service-connected cardiovascular disability, but denied a higher rating from December 15, 2022, through September 14, 2025.
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