The Board denied service connection for cause of the veteran's death, finding no competent evidence that the service-connected schizophrenia contributed to his death or caused any of the conditions listed.
The deciding factor: There is no competent evidence showing a causal relationship between the veteran's service-connected schizophrenia and his death, nor does the evidence show that he developed the other conditions in service or due to service.
- Claimed conditions
- schizophrenia, obstructive pneumonia, probable bronchogenic cancer, arteriosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 1, 2006
- Citation
- 0605778
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,242 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0605778.
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: Granted
The Veteran's schizophrenia is rated at 70 percent, indicating significant impairment in work and social functioning.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected arteriosclerotic heart disease is rated at 60% and has rendered him unemployable from February 17, 2023 to July 24, 2023. The Board also granted a special monthly compensation based on the housebound criteria.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for an allowance for an automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment, as he does not have physical loss of use of hands or feet, permanent impairment of vision in both eyes, severe burn injury, ALS, or ankylosis of knees or hips.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for an effective date prior to August 18, 2016, for a 100 percent disability rating for schizophrenia and for spousal SMC for aid and attendance. The Veteran's claim was erroneously adjudicated by the AOJ and constitutes a free-standing earlier effective date claim.
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