The Board denied the claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking the cause of death (end stage COPD) to either service or a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not show a relationship between the cause of the veteran's death and either service or a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- End stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 28, 2003
- Citation
- 0307995
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · 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 0307995.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was due to contaminated water exposure at Camp Lejeune, and the Board has ordered a remand for further investigation.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no evidence that his death was caused by a disability incurred in service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran's death was caused by end stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is service-connected due to his nicotine dependence developed during military service. The Board granted the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the appellant's claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is well grounded and will be further developed.
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