The veteran's cause of death due to shock was not incurred in or aggravated by active service, and a service-connected disability did not substantially contribute to his death. The veteran's military service is not qualifying for the purpose of conferring eligibility upon the appellant for nonservice-connected death pension benefits.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking the cause of death (shock) to any injury or disease incurred in active service, and a service-connected disability did not substantially contribute to his death. The veteran's military service was not qualifying for the purpose of conferring eligibility upon the appellant for nonservice-connected death pension benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- Shock
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 23, 2003
- Citation
- 0307725
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,699 · Granted: 17% (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 0307725.
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: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be due to his service-connected tracheostomy scar, which complicated intubation and caused aspiration pneumonia with hypercapnic and hypoxic respiratory failure. The Board granted DIC benefits based on this determination.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for further development due to conflicting opinions and additional evidence. The appellant's claim will be reconsidered based on all available evidence.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's son requests burial and plot benefits for his deceased mother, but the appeal is denied as there are no applicable laws or regulations providing such benefits for a nonservice-connected veteran's spouse.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that diabetes mellitus type II was not a principal or contributory cause of death and did not play a role in his fatal heart failure.
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