The Board found that the veteran's service-connected duodenal ulcer disease did not substantially or materially contribute to cause his death, and thus denied the claim for DIC benefits.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion attributed the veteran's death to non-service-connected malignant melanoma, and stated that his duodenal ulcer disease did not play any part in causing his death.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic melanoma of unknown primary site, hypertension, peptic ulcer disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 0%
- Decision date
- November 30, 2006
- Citation
- 0637128
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,440 · Granted: 30% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0637128.
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
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- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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