The Board found that the veteran did not have qualifying service to establish basic legal entitlement to VA nonservice-connected death pension benefits. The claims for service connection for various conditions were denied as they are not related to the veteran's service.
The deciding factor: The veteran had no qualifying service and thus, his status as a claimant is irrelevant to the decision on eligibility for VA death pension benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive cardiovascular disease, arteriosclerosis, chronic dysentery, peptic ulcer disease, beriberi
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2007
- Citation
- 0702920
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 0702920.
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.
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The Veteran's depression was rated at 50 percent prior to September 27, 2017. From September 27, 2017, the rating for depression increased to 70 percent.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal contesting eligibility to attorney fees based on past-due benefits awarded in an October 3, 2025 rating decision. The AOJ issued a corrected FAN and amended FAN that replaced the previous decisions, leading to no valid appeal pending.
- Granted
The Veteran's hypertension is related to herbicide exposure during service and contributed substantially to his cause of death.,Service connection for both hypertension and the cause of death (hypertensive cardiovascular disease) is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to VA DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a need for further evaluation regarding the relationship between any identified pulmonary/respiratory disability, including bronchial asthma, and active service.
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