The Board has dismissed the appeal as the appellant's claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is moot due to her award of DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.
The deciding factor: The appellant's claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death was rendered moot as she received DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318, which is a separate benefit from service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Leukemia, Diabetes
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 5, 2003
- Citation
- 0302253
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,599 · Granted: 37% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0302253.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and Leukemia have prevented him from obtaining or maintaining employment, leading to a grant of TDIU.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for SMC in excess of SMC(n) based on his service-connected conditions and additional disabilities, as well as his need for aid and attendance. The appeal was dismissed.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU, SMC on housebound basis, and DEA benefits are granted effective October 16, 2019. The Board found the Veteran unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected right lung lobectomy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to a duty to assist error. The VA needs to obtain examination reports and determine if the service-connected conditions meet the criteria for specially adapted housing and special home adaptation grant.
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