The Board found that new and material evidence had been presented to reopen the claim for DIC based on service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, and granted entitlement to DIC. The claim for Dependents' Educational Assistance under Chapter 35 was also reopened and granted.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that a service-connected disability contributed to the veteran's death by perpetuating his obesity, which had its onset in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Arteriosclerotic heart disease, Hypertension, Obesity
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 9, 2009
- Citation
- 0904498
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,776 · Granted: 24% (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 0904498.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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