The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, including bilateral hearing loss and multiple musculoskeletal conditions, contributed to his death from sepsis due to a decubitus ulcer. The Board found that these disabilities rendered him materially less capable of resisting the effects of other causes of death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected disabilities, particularly his 100% rated bilateral hearing loss and multiple musculoskeletal conditions, contributed substantially to his near-total functional impairment and malnutrition, which ultimately caused his death from sepsis due to a decubitus ulcer.
- Claimed conditions
- Bilateral hearing loss, Postoperative urethral stricture, Left shoulder bursitis with ankylosis, Degenerative arthritis of the lumbar spine, Bilateral lower extremity weakness, Hypertension, Post pulmonary emboli, Rectal polyps, Small forehead laceration, Laminectomy scar, Erectile dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- January 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19101628
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 for bilateral hearing loss, as there was no evidence of a current disability in the right ear and insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the left ear hearing loss and service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a medical clarification regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected epilepsy has aggravated his bilateral hearing loss.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for bilateral hearing loss to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the Veteran's lay statements regarding in-service acoustic trauma and a rocket blast injury.
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