The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and also found that the appellant did not meet the requirements to be eligible for VA nonservice-connected death pension benefits.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence linking the veteran’s fatal heart condition to his military service, and he did not have a pending claim or established service-connected disability during his lifetime.
- Claimed conditions
- rheumatic heart disease, mitral insufficiency, heart failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2006
- Citation
- 0637877
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 734 · Granted: 9% (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 0637877.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, and heart failure have been granted on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicide agents during service. The claim for glaucoma has been denied as not related to service-connected conditions or in-service herbicide agent exposure.,Service connection for heart failure is granted secondary to service-connected coronary artery disease.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal seeking an effective date prior to January 23, 2014, for the assignment of a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is dismissed due to his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus. The remaining claims of service connection for hypertension, kidney disease, COPD, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, vertigo, and an acquired psychiatric disorder are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for coronary artery disease is remanded due to the need for a medical opinion regarding exposure to burn pits during his military service.
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