The Board finds that the service-connected postoperative right inguinal hernia contributed substantially and materially to the Veteran's death, and grants service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The service-connected postoperative right inguinal hernia triggered a sequence of events leading directly to the Veteran's death, including surgery, aspiration pneumonia, respiratory failure, and ultimately death from pneumonia and aspiration.
- Claimed conditions
- postoperative right inguinal hernia
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 13, 2012
- Citation
- 1201418
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 1201418.
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.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's right knee degenerative arthritis with postoperative meniscal tear was granted an increased rating from 10 percent to 40 percent, but no higher, effective May 18, 2016. Other claims were denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection and evaluation of hearing loss due to incomplete rationale in the September 2018 VA examiner's opinion, lack of relevant VA treatment records from December 2018 to present, and discrepancies between different speech discrimination tests used.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected bilateral inguinal hernia has been rated at 40 percent since August 11, 2010. The Board finds that the evidence supports this rating as there is no indication of a large hernia and the condition remains small and recurrent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to the need for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and providing proper VCAA notice.
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