The veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected condition, and his service-connected schizophrenia did not meet the criteria for a 100% rating for more than ten years prior to his death. Therefore, DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 are denied.
The deciding factor: The veteran's HIV infection was not related to his military service or his service-connected schizophrenia, and the veteran did not have a 100% rating for more than ten years prior to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Schizophrenia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2004
- Citation
- 0407763
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,555 · Granted: 19% (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 0407763.
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.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for treatment purposes only for PTSD and remanded the claim of service connection for treatment purposes only for HIV.
- Granted
The Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, specifically schizophrenia, is rated at 70 percent disabling. The appeal for a TDIU has been granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for schizophrenia was reopened and granted effective June 14, 1989. SMC based on the need for aid and attendance is also granted as of that date.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's request to readjudicate his claims for service connection for PTSD (claimed as schizophrenia), headaches, and schizophrenia. The claim for memory loss and residuals of head injury remains denied due to lack of new and relevant evidence.
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