The Board has determined that the veteran's service-connected PTSD contributed to his death, and therefore grants service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The death certificate explicitly states that the immediate cause of death was an acute MI with secondary congestive heart failure; due to or as a consequence of PTSD; due to or as a consequence of severe pulmonary fibrosis and small bowel obstruction. As the service-connected PTSD is listed as a contributing factor, it meets the criteria for service connection under 38 C.F.R. § 3.312(c)(1).
- Claimed conditions
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Recurrent dislocation of the right shoulder with limitation of motion and arthritis, Tinnitus, Headaches, Perforated tympanic membrane
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2001
- Citation
- 0103049
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 0103049.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for depressive disorder as secondary to hypertension and tinnitus, but denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and an increased rating for hypertension.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but remanded the claim for degenerative disc disease with degenerative arthritis.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, finding that the Veteran's conditions are related to in-service noise exposure.
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