The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death was not service-connected and denied both the claim for service connection for the cause of death and the eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance under Chapter 35.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence to establish a nexus between any disability of service origin and the veteran's death, nor were there any service-connected disabilities that contributed substantially or materially to cause death.
- Claimed conditions
- severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction, chronic renal insufficiency, Alzheimer's dementia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2003
- Citation
- 0328140
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 0328140.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for Alzheimer's dementia as secondary to bilateral hearing loss and special monthly compensation based on the need for aid and attendance due to the Veteran's dementia.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities result in regular need for aid and attendance, which qualifies him for special monthly compensation (SMC) based on aid and attendance.
- Granted
The Veteran's Alzheimer's dementia is granted as service connected due to exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam, including Agent Orange.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim that the Veteran's service-connected bilateral hearing loss contributed to his death due to Alzheimer's dementia and failure to thrive, finding that there was no causal connection.
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