The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death and also denied his claim for non-service-connected death pension benefits. The appellant was notified that she had one year to file a substantive appeal if she wished to contest these decisions.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not support a finding that arteriosclerotic heart disease, which caused the veteran's death in January 1993, was related to his military service or any other condition he may have had. The appellant also failed to file her appeal within one year of the decision.
- Claimed conditions
- arteriosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 5, 2004
- Citation
- 0408773
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 0408773.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for arteriosclerotic heart disease, finding that the evidence is within approximate balance that it was caused by toxic exposure during service in Southwest Asia.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the untimely filing of the Notice of Disagreement.
- Partly granted
The Board granted a separate initial 20 percent rating for right knee meniscal tear based on limitation of knee flexion, and an initial 60 percent rating for arteriosclerotic heart disease. It also granted TDIU due to service-connected residuals of prostate cancer.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates and higher ratings for his service-connected conditions, as well as a TDIU.
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