The Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and there is no evidence of a direct link between his service-connected conditions and the cause of death. The claim for TDIU on accrued benefits purposes is also denied as the Veteran did not meet the schedular criteria for TDIU at any point during the appeal period.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not support a finding that any of the disorders listed on the Certificate of Death were service-connected, and there was no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's service or his service-connected disabilities. The Veteran did not meet the schedular criteria for TDIU at any point during the appeal period.
- Claimed conditions
- infective endocarditis, ischemic cardiomyopathy, end-stage renal disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19193756
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,642 · Granted: 19% (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 19193756.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection due to a duty-to-assist error regarding the Veteran's exposure to asbestos and Agent Orange during service. The claims are now pending for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's eligibility for VA's PCAFC benefits is being remanded due to insufficient medical opinion supporting the denial of benefits. The Board finds that the Veteran requires personal care services and supervision, meeting the basic medical eligibility criteria under PCAFC.
- Granted
The Veteran's ischemic cardiomyopathy was granted service connection as it met the definition of ischemic heart disease (IHD) listed in VA regulations, and he had this condition at the time his application for benefits was filed.
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