The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that his service-connected schizophrenia did not contribute substantially to his death and there was no evidence linking any other condition to his death.
The deciding factor: Service-connected schizophrenia did not cause or contribute substantially to the cause of death (pulmonary edema and cardiomegaly).
- Claimed conditions
- pulmonary edema, cardiomegaly
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 25, 2004
- Citation
- 0405223
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,177 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0405223.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an initial rating higher than 30 percent for cardiomegaly with cardiac hypertrophy and valvular heart disease has been dismissed due to the appellant withdrawing the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of asthma, pulmonary edema, COPD, vascular disease, dementia, and gastroenteritis due to a lack of evidence regarding service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for a new VA examination to determine the current nature and severity of his service-connected coronary artery disease (CAD), status post myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), with cardiomegaly, and valvular heart disease. The examiner must address the impact of medication on the Veteran's disability.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings and earlier effective dates, as well as a TDIU.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.