The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability.,The Veteran did not have a continuously rated totally disabling condition for at least 10 years immediately preceding his death.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking the cause of death to active duty service, and the Veteran did not meet the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiac failure, rectosigmoid carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- April 24, 2019
- Citation
- 19131823
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,645 · Granted: 19% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19131823.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death is granted as service-connected, with the issue of DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 being dismissed due to the grant of service connection.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not connected to his active-duty service, and therefore the claim for service connection for cause of death and entitlement to DIC is denied.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death due to his service-connected conditions, finding that none of his service-connected conditions contributed to his cause of death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's death was due to his service-connected coronary artery disease, which is the principal cause of death. The appeal for service connection for cause of death is granted.
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