The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for cause of death and her request for nonservice-connected death pension benefits due to lack of new and material evidence, and because the veteran's military service did not qualify him for VA pension benefits.
The deciding factor: No new and material evidence was submitted to reopen the claim for service connection for cause of death. The appellant's husband's military service did not meet the requirements for basic eligibility for VA nonservice-connected death pension benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- heart failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 19, 2004
- Citation
- 0407257
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 0407257.
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The Veteran has withdrawn the appeal for service connection for heart failure, sleep apnea, and erectile dysfunction.
- Dismissed
The appeal is dismissed as the Veteran did not express disagreement with any issue decided by the AOJ within the prior year.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his service-connected disabilities were contributory causes.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for GERD as it is but-for due to the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral strain and right knee strain. The remaining claims for IBS, hypertension, heart failure, and pericarditis are remanded for further development.
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