The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between the Veteran's causes of death and his military service.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion concluded that the Veteran's causes of death were not related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- mediastinal mass, pericardial effusion
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- December 2, 2021
- Citation
- 21072224
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 21072224.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for pulmonary heart disease, non-ischemic heart disease, congenital heart defects, pericardial effusion, and pulmonary fibrosis due to new and relevant evidence having been secured.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for pleural effusion, pericarditis, chronic, lung changes, left, lung scarring, left, and pericardial effusion to obtain additional medical evidence.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for a compensable disability rating for pericardial effusion due to latent tuberculosis (claimed as pleural effusion) is dismissed.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for lung condition with scarring (claimed as lung condition due to removal of fiberglass and lung (latent TB)) is denied.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a new VA medical opinion to address the etiology of the Veteran's heart conditions, specifically his claimed ischemic heart disease (claimed as coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, aneurysm of ascending aorta, aortic stenosis, pericardial effusion, septal thickening, coronary catheterization, and valve surgery).
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