The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that his in-service hepatitis infection contributed to his liver disease and subsequent cardiac arrest. The claimant is also granted an increased rating for PTSD for accrued benefits purposes.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence established a causal link between the veteran's in-service hepatitis infection and his terminal cirrhosis, which was found to be the immediate cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiac arrest, cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 22, 2003
- Citation
- 0328451
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 0328451.
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 Board granted service connection for the cause of death, determining that it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's fatal conditions were caused by his military service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of March 8, 2024 for the grant of service connection for type 2 diabetes mellitus but denied earlier effective dates for atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure. The other claims were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, for purposes of entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), as further development is necessary.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for prostate cancer residuals and cirrhosis, both presumed to be related to exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
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