The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, earlier effective date for TDIU, and DIC benefits pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1318 due to lack of evidence showing a direct link between any service-connected condition and the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no direct evidence linking any service-connected condition to the cause of the veteran's death, which is required for service connection under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- congestive heart failure, emphysema, cirrhosis of the liver, alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 23, 2006
- Citation
- 0615028
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 0615028.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a heart condition to obtain an addendum opinion from a VA clinician regarding whether the Veteran's current heart condition is related to service, including in-service treatment for hypertension.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for various conditions were dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for Parkinson's disease, emphysema, muscle cramps, bilateral shoulder disability, and neck disability. However, it granted service connection for peripheral vascular disease and asthma.
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