The veteran's death was due to complications from his service-connected schizophrenia, which contributed substantially to his condition.
The deciding factor: Service-connected schizophrenia aggravated the veteran's overall health and contributed to his deteriorating condition that ultimately led to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- schizophrenia, catatonic type
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 30%
- Decision date
- May 26, 2006
- Citation
- 0615377
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,480 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0615377.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an extension of a higher rate of special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for regular aid and attendance under 38 U.S.C. § 1114 (p), beyond July 31, 2022, has been withdrawn by the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining private treatment records and a retrospective medical opinion regarding the severity of the service-connected schizophrenia during the period on appeal.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death was denied as there is no evidence that his metastatic lung cancer was incurred during active service or related to service.,The Veteran's claim for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 was also denied because he did not meet the criteria for a continuous period of total disability due to service-connected disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining addendum opinions from VA examiners regarding whether it is clear and unmistakable that the Veteran's pre-existing schizophrenia did not increase in severity during service beyond its natural progression.
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