The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and therefore denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking any of the Veteran's conditions to his military service or asbestos exposure in service. The immediate cause of death was COPD due to tobacco abuse, not related to service-connected disabilities.
- Claimed conditions
- COPD, coronary artery disease (CAD), transient ischemic attack (TIA), hypertension (HTN), peripheral vascular disease (PVD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 25, 2009
- Citation
- 0936323
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 0936323.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for COPD, finding that there is no evidence of a nexus between his current respiratory disability and active duty service. The VA examiner concluded that the COPD was more likely due to tobacco use rather than asbestos exposure in service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection and TDIU are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his coronary artery disease.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, attributing it to his exposure to Agent Orange during service. COPD is considered a disease associated with such exposure.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer, coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus type II (DM II), hypertension, and erectile dysfunction as secondary to service-connected DM II. The Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange during active service is presumed.
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