The Veteran's cause of death was due to ALS, a condition that became presumptively service-connected in September 2008. However, the appellant remarried prior to this change and is therefore not eligible for retroactive DIC benefits.
The deciding factor: The effective date for the liberalizing regulation establishing presumptive service connection for ALS could not be earlier than September 24, 2009 (the effective date of the new rule) or one year prior to the appellant's remarriage in December 2004. Since she remarried before the change in law, she is no longer eligible for retroactive benefits.
- Claimed conditions
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- September 30, 2016
- Citation
- 1639134
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 1639134.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of death, concluding that the Veteran's amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) contributed substantially and materially to his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied the claims for earlier effective dates, finding that it was not factually ascertainable that the Veteran suffered from the loss of use of both feet prior to February 13, 2014.
- Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's claim for additional DIC benefits pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1311(a)(2) as the Veteran was not in receipt of, and was not entitled to receive, compensation for a service-connected disability that was rated totally disabling for a continuous period of at least eight years immediately preceding his death.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), was related to his military service and granted service connection for the cause of death effective January [redacted], 2002.
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