Citation Nr: 18141726 Decision Date: 10/11/18 Archive Date: 10/11/18 DOCKET NO. 16-29 151 DATE: October 11, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The record evidence, to include a certificate of death, shows that the Veteran died on April [redacted], 2014, due to prostate cancer. 2. At the time of the Veteran’s death, service connection only was in effect for anxiety reaction, evaluated as 10 percent disabling effective June 3, 1964. 3. The record evidence does not show that the cause of the Veteran’s death is related to active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 5103, 5103A, 5107 (West 2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303, 3.304, (2017). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from July 1963 to June 1964. He died in April 2014. The Appellant is claiming as his surviving spouse. The Appellant appointed her current service representative to represent her before VA by filing a completed VA Form 21-22 with the Agency of Original Jurisdiction (AOJ) in May 2016. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against granting the Appellant’s claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death. The Appellant essentially contends that the Veteran’s prostate cancer is related to active service and caused his death. The record evidence does not support the Appellant’s assertions regarding an etiological relationship between the Veteran’s active service and the cause of his death. It shows instead that the cause of the Veteran’s death is not related to active service. It is undisputed that prostate cancer caused the Veteran’s death. It also is undisputed that, at the time of the Veteran’s death, service connection only was in effect for anxiety reaction, evaluated as 10 percent disabling effective June 3, 1964 (the day after the date of the Veteran’s discharge from active service). There is no competent evidence linking the cause of the Veteran’s death and his active service, however. A review of the Veteran’s death certificate shows that only prostate cancer is listed as the cause of his death. No other significant conditions contributing to or causing death are listed on his death certificate. The Appellant asserted in statements on her June 2016 VA Form 9 that the Veteran filed a claim of service connection for prostate cancer in 2008 and VA denied this claim “as the disability was not fully diagnosed. The death certificate confirms the original claim of prostate cancer in 2008.” A detailed review of the Veteran’s electronic claims file shows that he filed a claim of service connection for prostate cancer in April 2008 which the AOJ adjudicated in a July 2008 rating decision. The AOJ noted in July 2008 that the Veteran had not responded to VA’s request for information and/or medical evidence supporting his claim. Thus, the claim was denied. The July 2008 rating decision was not appealed and became final. The Veteran also did not submit any relevant evidence or argument within 1 year of the July 2008 rating decision which would render it non-final for VA adjudication purposes. See Buie v Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 242, 251-52 (2011). The Board acknowledges that evidence submitted by the Appellant in support of her currently appealed claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death shows that the Veteran was diagnosed as having and treated for prostate cancer prior to his death. None of this evidence demonstrates an etiological link between prostate cancer and the Veteran’s active service, however. Thus, the Board finds that the Appellant’s arguments on her June 2016 VA Form 9 are not probative on the issue of whether the cause of the Veteran’s death is related to active service. The Appellant contends that the cause of the Veteran’s death is related to service. The record evidence does not support her assertions concerning an etiological link between the cause of the Veteran’s death and active service. She otherwise has not identified or submitted any evidence demonstrating her entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death. In summary, the Board finds that service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is not warranted. R. FEINBERG Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD Michael T. Osborne, Counsel