The Veteran's cause of death was a motor vehicle accident caused by complications of his service-connected schizophrenia. The claim for service connection for the cause of death is granted as the service-connected disability (schizophrenia) is considered the principal cause of death.
The deciding factor: Service-connected schizophrenia, which was the Veteran's primary condition at the time of his death, was determined to be the principal cause of the motor vehicle accident that caused his death.
- Claimed conditions
- schizophrenia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 28, 2017
- Citation
- 1754100
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 1754100.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's schizophrenia is rated at 70 percent, indicating significant impairment in work and social functioning.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the claims for an effective date prior to August 18, 2016, for a 100 percent disability rating for schizophrenia and for spousal SMC for aid and attendance. The Veteran's claim was erroneously adjudicated by the AOJ and constitutes a free-standing earlier effective date claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that the Appellant's discharge from service is not a bar to VA compensation benefits, but it was an error in fulfilling VA's duty to assist not to obtain a medical opinion addressing the extent of any psychiatric symptoms during service and their effect on the Appellant's behavior. The matter is therefore remanded for further action.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's past-due benefits from the May 2024 rating decision were not fully paid to him, and the Board has ordered VA to quickly verify and pay any remaining amounts owed.
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