The Board denied the claims for service connection for cause of death, nonservice-connected death pension benefits, accrued benefits, and aid and attendance benefits as the veteran's surviving spouse due to lack of evidence linking the conditions causing or contributing to the veteran's death to his active service.
The deciding factor: There was no medical evidence etiologically linking the veteran's cause of death to his active service or establishing a diagnosis of heart disease, arteriosclerosis, or tuberculosis within the one year presumptive period following discharge from active service.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic heart disease, Atherosclerosis, Pulmonary tuberculosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 23, 2006
- Citation
- 0626254
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 0626254.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the R(1) rate due to his need for regular aid and attendance.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew his appeals for increased ratings of ischemic heart disease and diabetes, and these claims are dismissed.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type II, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension from August 10, 2022, under the PACT Act. The claim for a thyroid disability was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to request a medical opinion on whether service-connected hypertension or ischemic heart disease was a principal or contributory cause of the Veteran's death.
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