The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, finding that neither cerebrovascular accident nor hypertension were related to his military service and concluding that alcohol abuse was not a substantial or material factor in causing his death.
The deciding factor: The VA physician's opinion concluded that the Veteran's alcohol use was less likely than not a contributing factor to his stroke, which was listed as the cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- Cerebrovascular accident, Uncontrolled hypertension
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 16, 2020
- Citation
- A20016914
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 A20016914.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for adrenal gland tumor, hypertension, enlarged node of the breast, congestive heart failure, kidney disability, pulmonary edema, cerebrovascular accident, Conn's disease, and paralysis of left lower extremity to obtain a VA examination and opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the issue of service connection for residuals of cerebrovascular accident, as secondary to service-connected hypertension. The Veteran's claim will be further evaluated with an addendum opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to the need for a medical opinion regarding the etiology of his cerebrovascular accident, which caused his visual field defect.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence to support exposure to herbicides during active service and thus denying presumptive service connection.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.