The Veteran's death is not related to his military service, and there is no evidence of ischemic heart disease or other conditions that would qualify for presumptive service connection based on herbicide exposure. The Board denied the claim as the preponderance of the evidence does not support a finding of service connection.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died from sudden cardiac arrest without any record of ischemic heart disease or other condition associated with presumed herbicide exposure in his service records.
- Claimed conditions
- Sudden cardiac death
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 20, 2019
- Citation
- 19163634
Veterans Law Judge
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 19163634.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of the cause of the Veteran's death due to a pre-decisional duty-to-assist omission, requiring an addendum medical opinion.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was due to coronary artery disease, which is presumed to be related to his service in Vietnam. The Board granted service connection for the cause of death based on this presumption.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board determined that the Veteran's sudden cardiac death was not due to any disability incurred in service, manifested during the first post-service year, or related to service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his lung disease to service or the immediate cause of death.
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