The Board has determined that the appellant did not timely initiate an appeal of the April 2002 rating decision, which denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and entitlement to accrued benefits. As a result, the claims are denied.
The deciding factor: The appellant failed to file a timely Notice of Disagreement (NOD) within one year from the date of the April 2002 rating decision, which is required by law.
- Claimed conditions
- cause of death
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2006
- Citation
- 0608388
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a clarifying opinion on whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused his death through obesity as an intermediate step.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for cause of death due to a need for additional evidence, specifically an autopsy report and a medical opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, to include as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation, due to lack of substantial compliance with previous remand directives.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for cause of death due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error and the need for a VA medical opinion.
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