The Veteran's death was not caused by his own willful misconduct, and at the time of death he was not in receipt of compensation for service-connected disability that met the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not have a service-connected disability rated as totally disabling continuously for 10 years prior to his death or continuously rated as totally disabling since discharge from service, which are required for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Claimed conditions
- Coronary artery disease (CAD), Cryptogenic cirrhosis, Type 2 diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19111783
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,699 · 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 19111783.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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The Veteran's current coronary artery disease with acute, subacute, or old myocardial infarction with coronary stent is being remanded for further evaluation due to the lack of a medical nexus between his service-connected hypertension and his heart condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for SMC based on aid and attendance from June 1, 2011, to May 24, 2017, finding that his need for regular aid and attendance was not established during this period.
- 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 Veteran's service connection claims for coronary artery disease and obstructive sleep apnea have been denied as there is no evidence of a nexus between the conditions and his military service.
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