The Board denied the appellant's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection for cause of death and entitlement to aid and attendance as a surviving spouse, finding that December 21, 2018 is the earliest date entitlement arose due to the submission of new and material evidence linking the Veteran’s death to his service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the earliest date entitlement to service connection for cause of death was warranted on December 21, 2018 when the appellant submitted new and material evidence linking the Veteran's death to a service-connected disability (PTSD).
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2019
- Citation
- A19000776
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,030 · Granted: 17% (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 A19000776.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his myocardial infarction and COPD to his military service.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for bladder cancer, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as there is no evidence to support a link between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher level of SMC was denied as the Board found that he is already in receipt of SMC at the (l) rate based on need for regular aid and attendance due to service-connected disabilities, including coronary artery disease with congestive heart failure. A second award of SMC at the (l) rate based on need for regular aid and attendance was not warranted.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no competent evidence linking any principal or contributory cause of his death to his service.
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