The Board finds that the evidence is in relative equipoise as to whether the veteran was infected with HIV during a blood transfusion performed at a VA medical facility in December 1983, and grants dependency and indemnity compensation for the cause of the veteran's death under the provisions of 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.
The deciding factor: The Board places significant probative value on the fact that the veteran's only risk factor for HIV infection involved blood transfusions, and testing to detect antibodies against HIV was not performed at the time of the December 1983 transfusion.
- Claimed conditions
- AIDS
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 22, 2000
- Citation
- 0033510
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 0033510.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not related to his active military service, and the Board denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The claim for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is denied as the Veteran was not rated totally disabled at any point, and the death certificate lists sepsis as the immediate cause of death.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected PTSD aggravated his hypertension, which in turn contributed to his cerebrovascular disease/event and death. The Board finds this evidence is at least in equipoise, granting service connection for the cause of death.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the diagnosed conditions were not related to his active service.
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