The Board denied service connection for the cause of death and entitlement to nonservice-connected death pension benefits. The claim for DIC under section 1318 is also denied.
The deciding factor: There was no legal basis for service connection as the veteran's service records did not indicate any qualifying service, and there was insufficient evidence linking his post-service disabilities to his active military service.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiopulmonary arrest, hypertensive vascular disease, cerebral thrombosis with right hemiphlegia, Pott's disease (tuberculosis of bones)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 26, 2004
- Citation
- 0423614
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 0423614.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death was linked to his service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that there was no evidence linking any of the immediate or contributing causes of his death to his period of active duty service. The Board also found that the PACT Act did not apply in this case as the Veteran served prior to the period when herbicide agents were presumed used.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for hypertensive vascular disease, concussion, diabetes mellitus, seizure disability, bilateral pes planus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (alcohol use disorder in sustained remission and PTSD). The effective date for hypertension was denied as the Veteran's claim was received within one year of the PACT Act.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal involves multiple service-connected and non-service-connected conditions, with some issues being remanded for further evaluation. The primary issue is the need to determine if additional evaluations are warranted for various disabilities.
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