The Board denied the claim of service connection for cause of death because the Veteran's death was not caused by or related to active duty service. The new evidence submitted did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim.
The deciding factor: The new evidence is duplicative and does not provide any information that relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim of service connection for cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- Cause of Death
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19129827
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 was dismissed due to the death of the appellant, rendering it moot.
- Denied
The claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for the cause of death was denied as no formal or informal claim for service connection for cause of death was received within one year of the Veteran's death in November 2001.
- Denied
The Board denied the appellant's attempt to reopen her claim for service connection for the cause of death of her husband, finding that no new and material evidence was submitted.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
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