The Veteran died due to a house fire, and the appellant was convicted of murder. As the appellant is incarcerated, she cannot receive VA benefits.
The deciding factor: The appellant's conviction for felony murder prevents her from receiving VA benefits as the surviving spouse.
- Claimed conditions
- Cervical myelopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 17, 2020
- Citation
- 20054323
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 20054323.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's initial rating for cervical myelopathy, status post discectomy and fusion, is denied as it did not meet the criteria for an increased rating. The Veteran's surgical scars of the neck are also denied as they do not warrant a compensable rating.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a lack of evidence showing that his current disability was caused by VA carelessness, negligence, or similar fault.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran seeks service connection for a spine disorder, which he asserts was caused by an in-service fall and heavy lifting. The case is being remanded to attempt to locate the Veteran's service treatment records at a Philadelphia warehouse and obtain his unit history records from the First Battalion Ninth Marines, First Marine Division.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for cervical myelopathy and degenerative joint disease with spinal stenosis, assigning a disability rating of 20 percent effective from the date of the decision.
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