The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and for accrued benefits due to an earlier effective date for PTSD. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the veteran's cause of death (hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease) or his gastrointestinal bleed (duodenal ulcer) to service, nor did it find any evidence supporting a secondary relationship between PTSD and these conditions.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the preponderance of the evidence was against finding service connection for the cause of death on either a direct, presumptive, or secondary basis. The Board also found no evidence supporting an earlier effective date for PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal bleed due to duodenal ulcer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 5, 2006
- Citation
- 0631283
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 0631283.
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 matter to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's significant conditions at the time of his death were related to his service, including any toxic exposure risk activities (TERA), and if so, whether they had a material influence on the acceleration of his death.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence to support a direct relationship between the Veteran's service and his hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or methamphetamine use.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to missing VA medical records and incomplete Social Security Administration (SSA) records. The Veteran's cause of death is related to his service-connected disabilities, but there are questions about whether these conditions existed before or during service.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not related to service, and the low back disability appeal is dismissed as it has been granted as an accrued benefit. The claim for pension benefits remains pending due to incomplete information.
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