The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including his morphine addiction and pain management, caused or contributed to his death by overdose. Therefore, the cause of death is deemed service connected.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected musculoskeletal and neurological conditions led to increased dosages of prescribed morphine for pain relief, resulting in an overdose that caused his death.
- Claimed conditions
- low back strain, disabilities to each knee, bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, radiculopathy in the lower extremities, right ankle disability
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2013
- Citation
- 1342075
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 1342075.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed for the claims on appeal, including obtaining any outstanding treatment records and scheduling VA examinations to assess the current severity of service-connected disabilities. The Veteran's representative also requested reevaluation of his service-connected disabilities.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew all his appeals, including the one for an increased rating for low back strain.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for left, right ankle disabilities, left and right hip disabilities, left and right shin splints, and left and right knee disabilities due to inadequate nexus opinions in the VA examination reports. The Veteran contends that her current disabilities are related to injuries sustained during basic training.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the Veteran's claims for service connection for athletes' foot, low back strain, and plantar fasciitis due to a lack of a VA examination prior to the August 2020 rating decision.
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