The Board has determined that the Veteran's confirmed exposure to Venezuelan equine and tularemia during service materially contributed to his death, resulting in gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to massive intracerebral hemorrhage due to hypertension.
The deciding factor: Medical opinions supported by a thorough review of the claims folder concluded that the Veteran's exposure to biological agents during service likely caused or aggravated his pre-existing conditions, leading to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal hemorrhage, Massive intracerebral hemorrhage, Hypertension
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 6, 2009
- Citation
- 0925079
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 0925079.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim of service connection for hypertension, finding that it did not manifest during service and is not causally related to the Veteran's exposure to herbicides or service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension, finding that there was no evidence of a nexus between his current condition and active duty service or herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for hypertension and has remanded the issue of an increased rating for skin condition.
- Granted
The Board has restored the Veteran's 10% rating for hypertension effective December 1, 2025 and denied a rating in excess of 10%. The reduction from 10% to noncompensable was not proper.
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