The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between the Veteran's psychiatric disorder and service, or any other condition related to service. The Board concluded that the Veteran did not have a heart disability due to service that contributed to his death from cardiac arrest.
The deciding factor: The VA psychiatrist provided an opinion stating that the symptoms reported by the Veteran’s daughters did not fully support a diagnosis of PTSD and instead suggested a nonspecific anxiety disorder secondary to dermatitis. The Board found this opinion more probative than the appellant's belief in a link between PTSD and death.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiac arrest, hypertensive cardiovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19141679
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 19141679.
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: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence showing a link between any service-connected disability and the Veteran's death. The conditions listed on his death certificate were not related to his military service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's hypertension is related to herbicide exposure during service and contributed substantially to his cause of death.,Service connection for both hypertension and the cause of death (hypertensive cardiovascular disease) is granted.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to VA DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a need for further evaluation regarding the relationship between any identified pulmonary/respiratory disability, including bronchial asthma, and active service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's death due to cardiac arrest and atherosclerotic heart disease was not related or attributable to his military service, thus denying the claim for service connection for cause of death.
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