The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for cause of death and DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318, finding that there was no evidence to support these claims.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the veteran did not have a current disability at the time of his death, and that any potential service-connected disabilities were not principal or contributory causes of death.
- Claimed conditions
- probable myocardial infarction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2004
- Citation
- 0401898
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,055 · Granted: 31% (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 0401898.
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 DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151, finding that the Veteran's death was not caused by VA carelessness, negligence, or fault.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and there is no evidence that his COPD or myocardial infarction were related to asbestos exposure in service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the claim for further development due to conflicting medical opinions regarding whether VA-prescribed medications contributed to the Veteran's death from a probable myocardial infarction.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain a medical opinion regarding the relationship between the veteran's fatal cardiovascular disease and/or COPD and his service, as well as any potential exposure to toxic substances. The claim will be reconsidered after obtaining this information.
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