The Board denied the reopening of the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the new evidence submitted did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.
The deciding factor: The newly submitted medical evidence and letters from family members and friends were found to be cumulative or redundant of previous evidence, and do not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- schizophrenia, hyperlipedemia, abdominal aortic aneurysm, congestive heart failure
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 13, 2010
- Citation
- 1013951
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 1013951.
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.
- Dismissed
The appeal for a compensable rating for left ear hearing loss, service connection for right ear hearing loss, and bilateral vision condition was dismissed. Service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a heart condition to obtain an addendum opinion from a VA clinician regarding whether the Veteran's current heart condition is related to service, including in-service treatment for hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no evidence that the Veteran was exposed to herbicides during his service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, diagnosed alternatively as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder, due to an inadequate VA examiner's opinion and a failure to fulfill the duty to assist in obtaining relevant medical records.
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