The Veteran's death was service-connected due to his diabetes mellitus, but the appellant is not entitled to increased DIC benefits or accrued benefits as her claim for these benefits is denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not have a pending claim at the time of his death and had no unadjudicated claims. His diabetes mellitus was service-connected solely for purposes of connecting cause of death, but this does not affect his eligibility for DIC or accrued benefits as he did not have an existing rating decision in favor of these benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of a penetrating wound to the abdomen, cold injury residuals of the left and right foot, gunshot wound to the left buttock and right leg, bilateral hearing loss, diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 11, 2009
- Citation
- 0934114
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 0934114.
What this means for you
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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 service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for bilateral hearing loss, migraine headaches, and PTSD due to additional development of records and examination.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss claim, specifically needing an addendum opinion from a VA examiner. The Veteran will be asked to provide any missing records and former employers' information.
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