The Board has reopened the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and determined that new and material evidence was submitted. The Board found that the veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder did not directly cause or contribute substantially to his death.
The deciding factor: The Board concluded that the veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder (schizophrenic reaction) did not directly cause or contribute substantially to his death, as evidenced by the fact that he died of an acute myocardial infarction due to coronary thrombosis.
- Claimed conditions
- Acute myocardial infarction, Coronary thrombosis
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 3, 2006
- Citation
- 0609608
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain new medical opinions regarding the Veteran's cause of death, specifically addressing his service in the Panama Canal Zone and potential exposure to toxins.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to determine whether the Veteran's service included travel to or near the DMZ or exposure to herbicide agents while in Korea.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding the relationship between the Veteran's in-service asbestos exposure and his death from acute respiratory failure. The appellant is asked to provide any relevant private treatment records, and VA will attempt to obtain them on her behalf.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service aboard the USS White Plains in the territorial waters off of Vietnam, combined with credible observations by a fellow sailor, entitles the appellant to presumptive service connection for exposure to herbicide agents. As such, the cause of the Veteran’s death is now considered service-connected.
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