The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking the obesity and weight gain to the fatal myocardial infarction. The preponderance of the evidence did not support a causal relationship between the veteran's schizophrenia and his death.
The deciding factor: The VA cardiologist concluded that the veteran's severe obesity was not a major risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease, making it less likely than not that the veteran's 'severe obesity' caused or significantly contributed to his death from acute myocardial infarction.
- Claimed conditions
- paranoid type schizophrenia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2006
- Citation
- 0613639
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,987 · Granted: 15% (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 0613639.
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 Veteran's service connection claim for paranoid type schizophrenia is granted. The Board has also remanded the issues of left knee disability, CAD, cerebral vascular accident, and hypertension.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's wife has stated that he refuses to stay home alone due to extreme fear, causing her financial hardship. The Board is remanding the case for a new VA examination to assess whether the Veteran needs regular aid and attendance of another person.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient information to decide on the appeal regarding whether the Veteran's pre-existing schizophrenia was aggravated by active service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran is not competent to manage his VA benefits due to recurrent psychiatric decompensation and inability to consistently take antipsychotic medications.
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