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Denied

The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and determined that the appellant was eligible for death pension benefits effective May 1, 2002.

The deciding factor: There is no competent evidence linking any service-connected disability to a vital organ or other vital body function, and thus the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death cannot be granted. The appellant's countable family income exceeded the maximum allowable income for a surviving spouse with two dependent children.

Claimed conditions
cardiorespiratory arrest due to or as a consequence of renal failure, which was due to or as a consequence of dementia, hypertension and atrial fibrillation
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
April 10, 2008
Citation
0811935

Veterans Law Judge

J. A. MARKEY

Decisions by this judge: 609 · Granted: 22% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)

Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.

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 0811935.

What this means for you

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