The Board denied service connection for the cause of death and entitlement to Dependents' Educational Assistance under chapter 35. The examiner concluded that the veteran's cause of death was acute coronary insufficiency, not related to his service-connected varicose veins.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner found it 'overwhelmingly more likely' that the veteran died from an acute coronary event rather than a complication from his service-connected varicose veins.
- Claimed conditions
- Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, Peripheral vascular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 18, 2003
- Citation
- 0305060
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,012 · Granted: 24% (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 0305060.
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 Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no competent evidence linking any principal or contributory cause of his death to his service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for further development regarding toxic exposures and a VA examination.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's heart conditions and PTSD were rated at their highest levels (100% for heart conditions, 70% for PTSD) effective December 11, 2019. Additionally, the Veteran was granted benefits related to his disabilities.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of January 9, 2018 for the award of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) based on the cause of death due to acute myocardial infarction. The decision is final as it relates back to the date entitlement arose.
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