The veteran died of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The Board denied the appellant's claims for dependency and indemnity compensation under Section 1318 and eligibility for dependents' educational assistance under Chapter 35 due to lack of evidence meeting the required conditions.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not support the appellant's theory that medication prescribed for the service-connected back disability caused the respiratory disorder that ultimately caused the veteran's death, nor did it show a permanent and total service-connected disability at the time of his death or that the cause of the veteran's death was service-connected.
- Claimed conditions
- end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2005
- Citation
- 0502172
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,464 · Granted: 14% (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 0502172.
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- Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran meets the criteria for special monthly pension benefits based on the need for regular aid and attendance of another person due to his disabilities and age preventing him from caring for daily personal needs without assistance.
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