The Board denied the veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection and TDIU, as the evidence did not support an earlier date of entitlement.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish that the veteran had localized edema or heart disease during his time as a POW, nor was it shown to be directly related to service. The veteran's combination of service-connected disabilities did not make him unemployable prior to October 7, 2004.
- Claimed conditions
- Atherosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 16, 2008
- Citation
- 0812624
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.
- Granted
The Board grants the Veteran's appeal for an earlier effective date of January 25, 2022, for the award of service connection for heart disabilities based on direct service connection.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, which was due to atherosclerotic heart disease.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and readjudication by the AOJ.
- Denied
The Board found that the veteran's death was not related to any service-connected disabilities, and denied entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC) benefits.
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