The Board has granted the Appellant's claim to reopen her service connection for cause of death, finding that new and material evidence supports her claim. The Board also found that the Veteran's coronary artery disease began during his active duty service and contributed substantially to his death by causing an arrhythmic event leading to a motor vehicle accident.
The deciding factor: The autopsy report showed severe atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries, which was considered to have begun several years prior to the clinical symptoms. The medical opinions supported this finding, indicating that the Veteran's heart disease was present during service and contributed substantially to his death by causing an arrhythmic attack leading to the car accident.
- Claimed conditions
- severe atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 7, 2017
- Citation
- 1750394
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 1750394.
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
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- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
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- Granted
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