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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (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 granted service connection for the cause of death, determining that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's fatal conditions were caused by his military service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for hypertension and chronic kidney disease, both related to the Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange during his service in Vietnam.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for Alzheimer's dementia, finding it is at least as likely as not related to the Veteran's in-service exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as the evidence did not support a finding that his service-connected PTSD with alcohol abuse caused or contributed to his death.
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