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Denied

The veteran died of vascular collapse due to arteriosclerotic heart and vascular disease. The VA determined that the appellant does not meet the income requirement for improved death pension benefits or is eligible for burial benefits.

The deciding factor: The veteran did not have a service-connected disability at the time of his death, nor was he in receipt of any compensation or pension benefits. Additionally, no new and material evidence had been received to reopen a claim for service connection.

Claimed conditions
vascular collapse due to arteriosclerotic heart and vascular disease
How they argued it
Not specified
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
July 13, 2004
Citation
0418556

Veterans Law Judge

F. JUDGE FLOWERS

Decisions by this judge: 1,514 · 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 0418556.

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