The veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. §1318 were not met.
The deciding factor: Service connection for cause of death is denied as there is no evidence linking the causes of death to any service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- Congestive Heart Failure, Arteriosclerotic Heart Disease, Diabetes Mellitus, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 28, 2005
- Citation
- 0502192
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 0502192.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied increased ratings for diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and a psychiatric disability due to insufficient evidence of the severity required for higher ratings.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and pulmonary fibrosis as these conditions were not related to the Veteran's service, including his exposure to Agent Orange.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but denied service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, sleep apnea, and erectile dysfunction.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for his diabetes mellitus, a higher rating for PTSD with alcohol use disorder, and a total disability rating due to service-connected disabilities.
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