The Board found no evidence to support the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, as there was no established service-connected disability and no evidence linking his death to military service or a pre-existing condition. The claims for non-service-connected Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) death pension benefits and accrued benefits were also denied due to lack of supporting medical records.
The deciding factor: The appellant failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish that the veteran's cause of death was related to his military service, as there is no record of any respiratory disease within one year of his service or in the years immediately after his active service. The Board concluded that the preponderance of the evidence did not support the claim for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiorespiratory arrest, pneumonia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2006
- Citation
- 0640170
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 0640170.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for pneumonia and remanded the claims for iodine allergy, pilonidal cyst, sulfa allergy, heart disability, acquired psychiatric disorder, and lower and upper extremity disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to an inadequate VA medical opinion and a need for additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's acute hypoxemia, respiratory failure, and pneumonia were related to service or toxic exposure under the PACT Act.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia and an increased rating for asthma, and remanded several other claims including those for heart condition, chronic low back condition, diabetes mellitus type II, GERD, hypertension, and sleep apnea.
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