The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by service-connected conditions and denied dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151 due to lack of fault on VA's part.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the cause of the veteran's death (end stage heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and systemic lupus) was not related to service or any other compensable condition.
- Claimed conditions
- End stage heart failure, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Systemic lupus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 15, 2004
- Citation
- 0418884
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,480 · Granted: 26% (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 0418884.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was caused by acute hypoxic respiratory failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with hypertension as a significant contributing factor. The Board finds that remand is necessary to obtain the Veteran's complete military records and treatment records.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for travel expenses reimbursement was remanded due to the submission of an incorrect appointment date by the Veteran on his beneficiary travel claim. The Board requested the Veteran to resubmit the claim using the correct appointment date and issued a notice of decision.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial claim for a higher rating for SLE was granted, and he is now receiving a 100% disability rating.,His earlier effective date appeal for TDIU based on service-connected SLE has been dismissed as moot due to the grant of the higher rating.
- Dismissed
Your appeal for service connection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death. The Board cannot issue a decision on this claim as it is no longer pending.
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