The veteran's death was not service-connected, but he had a total disability rating for PTSD that lasted more than 10 years before his death. Therefore, DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 are granted.
The deciding factor: The veteran's only service-connected condition (PTSD) was rated at 70% and considered unemployable due to PTSD by VA medical opinion upon hospital discharge in August 1992, leading to a 100% schedular rating effective September 1, 1992. This meets the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiopulmonary arrest, ethanol cirrhosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- May 26, 2006
- Citation
- 0615388
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (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 0615388.
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 has remanded the case due to a duty to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death was linked to his service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that there was no evidence linking any of the immediate or contributing causes of his death to his period of active duty service. The Board also found that the PACT Act did not apply in this case as the Veteran served prior to the period when herbicide agents were presumed used.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for cause of death and DIC benefits due to a failure to obtain a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's conditions, including his thyroid cancer and diabetes. The appellant is seeking service connection based on Agent Orange exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a need for further medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's cause of death and hypertension are related to his presumed exposure to herbicide agents during service.
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