The Veteran's claims for service connection were dismissed due to his death during the appeal process.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died while pursuing his claims, and the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the appeal at this time.
- Claimed conditions
- valvular heart disease, mitral valve prolapse with heart murmur
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 18, 2020
- Citation
- 20074173
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a 100 percent rating for valvular heart disease based on MET testing showing that at a workload of 3 METs or less, the condition results in fatigue and breathlessness.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral cataracts, dry eye syndrome, allergic conjunctivitis, valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, and atrial fibrillation as the evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were incurred in or caused by an in-service event.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeal for service connection for supraventricular arrhythmia, chronic paronychia, psoriasis and rosacea (claimed as skin condition), pulmonary nodules, and valvular heart disease.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of August 6, 2021 for service connection for heart disease based on the Veteran's exposure to chemicals in service.
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