Citation Nr: 20003068 Decision Date: 01/14/20 Archive Date: 01/14/20 DOCKET NO. 16-48 500 DATE: January 14, 2020 ORDER The petition to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death based on the submission of new and material evidence is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The May 2000 rating decision denying service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death is final as the Appellant did not appeal the denial of the issue. 2. The evidence received since the May 2000 rating decision, by itself, or in conjunction with previously considered evidence, does not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the underlying claim of entitlement to service connection for the Veteran’s cause of death. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. The May 2000 rating decision that denying entitlement to service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death is final. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5108, 7105(c); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.104, 20.200, 20.302, 20.1103. 2. New and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death. 38 U.S.C. §§ 5108, 7105(c); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.156, 20.1103. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served in the U.S. Army on active duty from May 1955 to April 1958. The Veteran died on February [REDACTED], 2000. New and Material Evidence to Reopen Service Connection for Cause of Death Where a claim has been finally adjudicated, a claimant must present new and material evidence to reopen the previously denied claim. 38 U.S.C. § 5108; 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). New evidence is evidence not previously submitted to agency decision makers. 38 C.F.R. § 3.156(a). Material evidence is evidence that, by itself or when considered with previous evidence of record, relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim. Id. New and material evidence cannot be either cumulative or redundant of the evidence of record at the time of the last prior final denial and must raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. Id. For the purposes of reopening a claim, newly submitted evidence is generally presumed to be credible. Justus v. Principi, 3 Vet. App. 510, 513 (1992). New and material evidence is not required as to each previously unproven element of a claim in order to reopen. Shade v. Shinseki, 24 Vet. App. 110, 120 (2010). There is a low threshold for determining whether evidence raises a reasonable possibility of substantiating a claim. Id. at 11718. The Regional Office (RO) denied the Appellant’s claim for entitlement to service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death in a May 2000 rating decision based on the fact that there was no evidence his death was due to a service-connected disability. The Appellant was notified of the decision by way of a June 5, 2000 letter from VA. The Appellant did not appeal the decision within a year of the issuance of the June 2000 letter and therefore the May 2000 rating decision became final. Thereafter, the Appellant sought to reopen her claim in October 2014. Evidence received since the May 2000 decision consists of a resubmitted death certificate, DD-214, marriage certificate, medical records as well as a new May 2016 statement in support of the claim, October 2019 hearing testimony, and service treatment records (STRs). The resubmitted documents are not new evidence as they have been previously submitted for review by the Appellant and are redundant. The May 2016 VA Form 21-4138 includes a written statement addressing the Appellant’s financial status and does not speak to the claim itself. The STRs indicate what the Veteran was treated for in service; however, they do not provide an opinion or speak to the cause of his death. The Appellant testified before the undersigned at hearing in October 2019. Her representative offered that he planned to submit research from his colleagues which suggested a link between the Veteran’s cause of death and his service-connected disabilities, but no such evidence has been received. By itself, or when considered with the evidence previously of record, none of the evidence submitted since the May 2000 rating decision relates to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate the claim of entitlement to service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death and does not raise a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim. The Board has considered the Appellant’s sincere testimony regarding what she believes is the cause of the Veteran’s death; however absent new and material evidence to support her claim, the claim must be denied. (Continued on the next page)   New and material evidence has not been received to reopen the claim of service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death. The requirements to reopen this claim have not been met, and the appeal must be denied. H.M. WALKER Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board T.N. Shannon The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.