The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and finds it well-grounded. The new evidence, including medical articles linking NSAIDs to gastrointestinal and liver disease, supports a plausible link between the veteran's service-connected ankylosing spondylitis and his death.
The deciding factor: The additional medical evidence provided since the last final decision indicates a possible connection between the veteran's use of medications for his service-connected condition and his cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute renal failure, Cerebral failure, Diabetes mellitus, Perforated duodenal ulcer, Septicemia, Severe cirrhosis, Arteriosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 10, 2000
- Citation
- 0020996
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 0020996.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted special monthly compensation (SMC) at the R(1) rate due to his need for regular aid and attendance.
- Partly granted
The Board denied an initial compensable rating for acute renal failure and remanded the claim for a chronic ingrown toenail evaluation.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding no evidence that his death was related to any injury or disease in service, including exposure to herbicide agents.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
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