The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was caused by his service-connected psychiatric disability, bipolar disorder with depression. The cause of death was listed as probable cardiac arrhythmia due to an enlarged heart. Given the evidence, including the independent medical evaluation, which concluded that the medications prescribed for his psychiatric condition likely contributed to his death, the Board has granted service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's death was caused by a service-connected disability (bipolar disorder with depression) and the medications used to treat this condition were found to have potentially contributed to his fatal arrhythmias.
- Claimed conditions
- bipolar disorder with depression, surgical scar of the anterior neck associated with cervical spondylosis with fusion surgery C5-6 and C6-7, impingement syndrome of the left shoulder, left knee patellofemoral syndrome, right knee patellofemoral syndrome, right hip tendonitis, left hip tendonitis, lumbar spondylolisthesis at L1-L2, cervical spondylosis with fusion surgery at C5-6 and C6-7, bilateral pes planus, muscle contraction headache associated with cervical spondylosis, left elbow cubital tunnel syndromes, Raynaud's syndrome of the lower right extremity, Raynaud's syndrome of the lower left extremity, right elbow lateral epicondylitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 23, 2012
- Citation
- 1225435
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 1225435.
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 Veteran's claim for service connection of a left knee disability, finding that it is not proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected back and sciatica disabilities. The evidence did not support a nexus between the Veteran's current condition and his military service.
- Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's requests for earlier effective dates for his service connection for bilateral pes planus and gynecomastia scar residuals, finding that the earliest possible effective dates are the dates of receipt of the claims.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have rendered him unable to secure and follow substantially gainful employment, leading to a TDIU rating.
- Denied
The Veteran's hypertension, bilateral pes planus, PTSD, and anxiety were all denied as service connection was not established based on the evidence of record.,Bilateral pes planus was denied due to lack of current diagnosis.
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