The Veteran's appeal for service connection and TDIU was dismissed due to his death during the pendency of the appeal.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died during the appeal process, thus the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of the claims.
- Claimed conditions
- recurrent cardiovascular disability, chronic heart failure, cardiomyopathy
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 5, 2026
- Citation
- A26000261
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 A26000261.
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A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot.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 Board has granted service connection for a heart disability, finding that it is secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's heart condition, finding that it is secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for cardiomyopathy and hypertension due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in the April 2025 rating decision. The issues are being remanded for further development, including obtaining an addendum opinion from an appropriate clinician.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an effective date prior to April 8, 2024, for the award of service connection for coronary artery disease (CAD) with bypass graft, acute, subacute, or old myocardial infarction, automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator, and cardiomyopathy was denied. The Board found that the effective date should be April 8, 2024, as it is based on the date of receipt of his intent to file a claim for compensation.
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