The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by or substantially contributed to by a disability incurred in service, and thus denied service connection for cause of death. The appellant did not meet the basic eligibility requirements for nonservice-connected death pension benefits due to her husband's service as recognized guerrillas.
The deciding factor: The veteran served as a member of recognized guerrillas from September 1942 to June 1946, which does not qualify him for active military service under VA laws and regulations for pension purposes.
- Claimed conditions
- Cerebrovascular accident (CVA), cardio-respiratory arrest
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 29, 2008
- Citation
- 0807037
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0807037.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected unspecified anxiety disorder caused substance abuse, which in turn led to his cerebrovascular accident (CVA), tonic-clone seizures, anoxic brain damage, right upper extremity (RUE) tremors, and left upper extremity (LUE) tremors. The Board granted service connection for these conditions.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a heart disability, CVA, and acquired psychiatric disability as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected conditions but denied increased ratings for hypertension, migraine headaches, status post anal fistulotomy, decreased visual acuity with diplopia associated with Graves' disease, and Graves' disease.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as the evidence did not support a finding that his CVA or other conditions were related to his military service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by squamous cell carcinoma, which is service-connected on a direct basis due to exposure to Agent Orange. The Board grants an effective date of November 1, 2018 for DIC benefits.
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