The veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and he did not have qualifying service for VA pension benefits. His claims for prostate cancer, intestinal cancer, coronary insufficiency with heart failure, cholera, and vertigo were denied as there is no evidence of these conditions in service or within one year post-service.
The deciding factor: The veteran's death was caused by pneumonia, which is not related to his service. The other claimed conditions are either not shown in service records or do not meet the criteria for presumptive service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- arteriosclerotic aorta, lower respiratory tract infection, pneumonia, stroke
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2004
- Citation
- 0408600
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 0408600.
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 denied the reduction of the rating for service-connected stroke from 100 percent to 10 percent, and granted service connection for adjustment disorder as a residual of the stroke.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for pneumonia and remanded the claims for iodine allergy, pilonidal cyst, sulfa allergy, heart disability, acquired psychiatric disorder, and lower and upper extremity disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to an inadequate VA medical opinion and a need for additional evidence.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claims for service connection for various conditions were denied, except for tinnitus and bilateral hearing loss disability which were granted. The veteran was also granted service connection for hypertension.
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