The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected, and the appellant did not meet the income requirements for VA pension benefits.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking the Veteran's cause of death to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Respiratory Arrest
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2018
- Citation
- 1802198
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 1802198.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is remanded for further evaluation regarding the use of alcohol to treat PTSD-related symptoms and its contribution to his death.
- Denied
The Board found no evidence to support service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, concluding that his alcoholism was not related to his military service and contributed substantially to his death.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death from respiratory arrest due to severe end-stage COPD was at least as likely as not caused by his in-service asbestos exposure, resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the appellant.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the cause of the Veteran's death, respiratory arrest due to increased intracranial pressure from a Grade III Astrocytoma, was not caused or aggravated by exposure to herbicide agents during active service.
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