The Board denied the claim for increased burial benefits based on service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as there was no evidence linking the veteran's cause of death to his active service or a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: There is no etiological link between the veteran's cause of death and his active service. The medical evidence does not support any causal connection between the veteran's service-connected varicose veins and his death, nor does it establish that his psychiatric condition or other service-connected disabilities contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Polypharmacy including cocaine, meprobamate, and carisoprodol, Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, Cardiomegaly, Hepatomegaly, Splenomegaly, Pulmonary edema
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2009
- Citation
- 0903433
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 684 · Granted: 25% (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 0903433.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
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