The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected hypertensive vascular disease contributed to his death from Alzheimer's Disease, and thus grants service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The VA physician's assistants acknowledged a possible link between hypertension and dementia but concluded it was not the main cause of death. However, their silence on whether the service-connected disability contributed to death allowed for a reasonable doubt in favor of the appellant.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertensive vascular disease, Alzheimer's Disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 1, 2009
- Citation
- 0932894
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 0932894.
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 service connection for hypertensive vascular disease, concussion, diabetes mellitus, seizure disability, bilateral pes planus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder (alcohol use disorder in sustained remission and PTSD). The effective date for hypertension was denied as the Veteran's claim was received within one year of the PACT Act.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal involves multiple service-connected and non-service-connected conditions, with some issues being remanded for further evaluation. The primary issue is the need to determine if additional evaluations are warranted for various disabilities.
- Granted
The Veteran's adult son, the Appellant, is granted accrued benefits due and unpaid at the time of his father's death. The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the expenses borne by the Appellant were a result of the Veteran's last sickness and burial.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted a TDIU based on his combined service-connected disabilities, including back disability, migraines, and depression. The decision finds the Veteran unable to secure or follow substantially gainful employment due to his service-connected disabilities.
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