The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his lung disease to service or the immediate cause of death.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence establishing a link between the veteran's diagnosed lung disease and service, or between his diagnosed lung disease and the immediate cause of death (sudden cardiac death).
- Claimed conditions
- Sudden cardiac death, Cardiovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 2, 2003
- Citation
- 0322217
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 0322217.
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 service connection for cardiovascular disease, finding that it is not shown to be causally or etiologically related to any disease, injury, or incident during service. The Veteran's condition was attributed to post-service factors such as obesity and hypertension.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded all five service connection claims due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain National Guard records for ADT or IDT. The Veteran's exposure to insecticides during his New York Air National Guard service is considered presumptive for hypertension, cardiovascular disease, CKD, COPD, and CLL.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of the cause of the Veteran's death due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist omission, requiring an addendum medical opinion.
- Whole decision: Granted
The veteran was granted an effective date of September 11, 2019 for the award of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) and basic eligibility to Dependents' Educational Assistance under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 35.
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