The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that there was no evidence linking any condition to his military service or exposure to herbicides. The Board also found that the veteran did not have a service-connected disability at the time of his death.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not establish a link between the veteran’s conditions and his military service or exposure to Agent Orange, and there was no service connection for any condition prior to death.
- Claimed conditions
- pneumonia, plasma cell myeloma, renal insufficiency, encephalopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 25, 2003
- Citation
- 0307916
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 0307916.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for pneumonia and remanded the claims for iodine allergy, pilonidal cyst, sulfa allergy, heart disability, acquired psychiatric disorder, and lower and upper extremity disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to an inadequate VA medical opinion and a need for additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's acute hypoxemia, respiratory failure, and pneumonia were related to service or toxic exposure under the PACT Act.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia and an increased rating for asthma, and remanded several other claims including those for heart condition, chronic low back condition, diabetes mellitus type II, GERD, hypertension, and sleep apnea.
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