The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be acute upper gastrointestinal bleed due to duodenal ulcer, with hypertensive cardiovascular disease found to be a likely contributing condition. The service-connected bipolar disorder did not cause or substantially contribute to his death.,The claim for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 was denied as the Veteran was not continuously rated totally disabled for at least 10 years immediately preceding his death.
The deciding factor: The service-connected bipolar disorder did not cause or substantially contribute to the Veteran's death.,The Veteran was not continuously rated totally disabled for a period of at least 10 years immediately preceding his death, and therefore, he was not eligible for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Claimed conditions
- Bipolar Disorder, Acute upper gastrointestinal bleed due to duodenal ulcer, Hypertensive cardiovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19113667
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,861 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19113667.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's PTSD with bipolar disorder has resulted in total occupational and social impairment, warranting a 100% disability rating effective August 8, 2018.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no evidence to support a causal relationship between the Veteran's military service and his death from gastrointestinal bleeding and hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and depressive disorder, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are at least as likely as not attributable to his active duty service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for a psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD, and for a right knee condition are remanded due to duty-to-assist errors. The AOJ must attempt to verify the claimed stressor events and provide a VA examination.
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