The Veteran's death was not service-connected, but the appellant paid for his burial expenses and filed a timely claim. The Board found that the criteria for nonservice-connected burial benefits were met.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died from heart injuries at home without VA involvement, and the appellant paid for his funeral expenses. As he had been in receipt of VA compensation at the time of death, the appellant was eligible for nonservice-connected burial benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine, left upper extremity radiculopathy, spondylolisthesis with degenerative joint disease lumbar spine, right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, status-post left achilles tendon rupture repair, tinnitus, left ankle painful scar, lower lip painful facial scar, right and left lower extremity radiculopathy, left wrist tenosynovitis, right thumb degenerative arthritis, right ankle synovitis, lower lip facial scars, lower back scar, left ankle scar, urticaria
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- A20017128
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 A20017128.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for tinnitus, finding that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran experienced tinnitus during his active duty service.
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