The Board denied the appellant's request to reopen her claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that the evidence submitted since the last final rating decision is not material.
The deciding factor: The new evidence did not show a competent medical opinion linking the veteran's nicotine dependency to his service-connected generalized anxiety disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- Nicotine dependence
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 8, 2006
- Citation
- 0638254
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 0638254.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for PTSD and nicotine dependence, but granted ratings for left knee limitations in flexion, extension, and patellar instability.
- Denied
The Board found that nicotine dependence, or any other service-connected disability, was not the proximate cause of the veteran's death; did not contribute substantially and materially to cause the veteran's death; did not make the veteran materialistically less capable of resisting the overwhelming effects of his fatal conditions; and/or did not have a material influence in accelerating his death.
- Denied
The Board found that the veteran did not acquire nicotine dependence during his active duty service and denied all claims for secondary service connection.
- Denied
The veteran's claims of service connection for nicotine dependence, a heart disorder secondary to nicotine dependence, and COPD as secondary to nicotine dependence are denied due to lack of evidence showing the conditions were incurred or aggravated during active service.
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