The Board found that the appellant's spouse did not have a service-connected disability during his lifetime, and therefore could not establish service connection for the cause of death. The claim was also denied for accrued benefits as the appellant filed her claim beyond the one-year time limit.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence showed no service-connected condition prior to or concurrent with the appellant's spouse's death in 1971, and thus could not be considered a contributory cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiovascular-renal disease, hypertensive heart failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2004
- Citation
- 0429421
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 0429421.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case for further development regarding the relationship of the Veteran's causes of death to his service, including foreign service in Germany.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to new and material evidence. However, the claim is still pending as it needs further consideration after obtaining additional VA treatment records.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board found no evidence of a chronic cardiovascular condition during or within one year after service, and thus denied the claim for service connection.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's blindness due to bilateral occipital lobe infarcts was not caused by VA treatment and therefore, he is not entitled to DIC benefits.,VA treatment in November 1997 did not cause the Veteran's death from cardiovascular-renal disease.
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