The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and entitlement to DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 due to lack of evidence linking the causes of death to service.
The deciding factor: There was no competent evidence showing a nexus between the veteran's cause of death and his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart failure, Cor pulmonale, Chronic lung obstruction, Bronchial asthma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 26, 2004
- Citation
- 0410914
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,440 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0410914.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's bronchial asthma has been rated at 30% since January 7, 2004. The Board has now granted a 60% rating effective from November 14, 2024, based on the evidence showing FEV-1/FVC of 40 to 55 percent during the appeal period.
- Denied
The Veteran's bronchial asthma is rated at 60 percent since March 31, 1997. The Board found the current rating of 60 percent to be correct based on post-bronchodilator FEV-1 and FVC measurements.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate evaluation by the Centralized Eligibility and Appeals Team (CEAT) regarding the Veteran's eligibility for PCAFC enrollment. The CEAT did not provide a thorough explanation of why the Veteran does not meet the criteria for personal care services, which is necessary for eligibility.
- Denied
The Veteran's bronchial asthma was rated at 30 percent since November 13, 2019. The VA found that the evidence did not meet the criteria for a higher rating under Diagnostic Code (DC) 6602.
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.