The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding no new and material evidence to support her claim.
The deciding factor: The additional evidence did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim (a nexus between the veteran's cause of death and his military service).
- Claimed conditions
- cardiopulmonary arrest, cerebrovascular accident (CVA), thrombosis due to hypertension
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 9, 2004
- Citation
- 0432639
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 0432639.
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 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.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him in need of regular aid and attendance of another, as his need for assistance is associated with nonservice-connected conditions.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection were denied as the evidence did not meet the criteria for reopening the claims and establishing new and material evidence.
- Whole decision: 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.
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