The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by or related to service-connected conditions, and denied both the claim for service connection for the cause of death and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance under Chapter 35. The Board also noted that the appellant did not meet the criteria for basic eligibility for dependents' educational assistance due to lack of a permanent service-connected disability at the time of her husband's death.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of evidence showed no causal connection between the veteran's death and his service or any service-connected condition, including thromboangitis obliterans. The Board also determined that the appellant did not meet the eligibility criteria for dependents' educational assistance under Chapter 35 due to lack of a permanent service-connected disability at the time of her husband's death.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiovascular disease, thromboangitis obliterans
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2006
- Citation
- 0638842
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 0638842.
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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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an addendum VA medical opinion to address whether the Veteran's cause of death, cardiovascular disease, was caused or aggravated by a service-connected disability and medications taken for such disabilities.
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