The Veteran's death was not service-connected for burial purposes due to the absence of a service-connected disability at the time of his death. The claim for accrued benefits was also denied as there were no pending claims or unpaid benefits at the time of his death.
The deciding factor: There was no service connection for any condition that could be considered the cause of death, and no pending claims or unpaid benefits existed at the time of the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- Pulmonary Embolism, Ischemic Heart Disease, Cancer of the Rectum
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19186335
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,092 · Granted: 42% (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 19186335.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected ischemic heart disease was granted a 30% disability rating effective August 31, 2010. The condition manifested as cardiac hypertrophy and a workload of greater than 5.0 but less than 7.0 METs without congestive heart failure or LVEF of 50 percent or less.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including PTSD, ischemic heart disease, diabetic neuropathy, prostate cancer residuals, bilateral diabetic peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities (sciatic), and diabetes mellitus Type 2, combine to result in physical or mental impairment that renders him so helpless as to require regular aid and attendance of another person. However, the need for aid and attendance must be determined without considering nonservice-connected disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for Persistent Depressive Disorder is denied. The Board has also remanded the issue of service connection for Pulmonary Embolism due to predecisional duty to assist errors.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates of April 12, 2022, but no earlier, for service connection of Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), Diabetes Mellitus, Type II, Right Lower Extremity Peripheral Artery Disease (RLPAD), Left Foot Little and Third Toe Amputation, Left Foot Great Toe Amputation, and Left Lower Extremity Residual Surgical Scars.
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