The Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service, and the Board denied entitlement to service connection for cause of death.,The Veteran did not meet the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 as he had not been rated 100% disabled for at least 10 years prior to his death.,The appellant's income exceeded the maximum rate for nonservice-connected death pension benefits, thus denying her entitlement to such benefits.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence showing that the Veteran experienced heart or kidney issues during service or within one year of separation. The medical records did not indicate any service connection for these conditions.,The Veteran's TDIU award had an effective date based on a final decision, and there was no CUE to revise this effective date. Therefore, he did not meet the 10-year period required for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.,The appellant's income exceeded the maximum rate for nonservice-connected death pension benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute myocardial infarction, Chronic kidney failure on hemodialysis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19186568
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (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 19186568.
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 Veteran died due to an acute myocardial infarction. The Board has identified errors in the toxic exposure documentation and requests a remand for further investigation and medical opinion regarding the cause of death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the Veteran's death was caused by an intraabdominal hemorrhage, acute myocardial infarction, and acute renal failure. The appeal is remanded to obtain a medical opinion on whether these conditions are related to in-service exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for acute myocardial infarction has been dismissed as the January 2026 VA Form 10182, which appealed the October 2025 rating decision, was received concurrently with a supplemental claim (VA Form 20-0995).
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to acute myocardial infarction, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. The claims for heart disability and hypertension were also denied as they are not considered service-connected.
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