The Veteran's service-connected atypical chest pain and mitral valve prolapse were not found to be the principal or contributory cause of his death, which was caused by a motorcycle collision. The Board denied service connection for cause of death as there was no evidence of Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam and the cardiovascular disease that led to death was not related to service.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion concluded that the Veteran's service-connected atypical chest pain and mitral valve prolapse were not the principal or contributory cause of his death, which was caused by a motorcycle collision. The Board also found no evidence of Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam and the cardiovascular disease was not related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- atypical chest pain, mitral valve prolapse
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2020
- Citation
- 20065603
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 20065603.
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: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for bicuspid aortic valve and mitral valve prolapse, finding that the Veteran's heart disability was aggravated by military service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has reopened the claim for service connection of a heart disability (mitral valve prolapse) due to new and relevant evidence, finding that it was aggravated by military service. Service connection is granted.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of adequate examination, and further evaluation is needed to determine if the Veteran's heart disability had its onset during active service or is related to any incident of service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for service connection for chronic sinusitis is granted. The claims for higher ratings for migraine headaches, mitral valve prolapse, and an acquired psychiatric disability other than PTSD are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions. The claims for bilateral hearing loss, chronic fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, dermatitis, low back disability, and sciatic radicular pain of both lower extremities are also remanded.
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