The Board has reopened the DIC claim based on new evidence showing that Darvon, a medication prescribed for service-connected back pain, may have caused or contributed to the Veteran's atrial fibrillation and death. The claims under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 and 38 U.S.C. § 1318 are also remanded for further examination.
The deciding factor: The new evidence suggests Darvon may have caused or aggravated a cardiac disorder that contributed to the Veteran's death, warranting reopening of the DIC claim under 38 U.S.C. § 5108.
- Claimed conditions
- Renal Disorder, Atrial Fibrillation, Cardiac Dysrhythmia
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 25, 2019
- Citation
- 19132433
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for COPD, obstructive sleep apnea, atrial fibrillation, and hypertension as not being related to the Veteran's active duty or secondary to his service-connected GAD. However, congestive heart failure was granted due to a secondary relationship with his service-connected GAD.
- Denied
The Board denied entitlement to an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for diabetes mellitus and hypertension, as well as a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death, finding that no service-connected disability caused or contributed to the Veteran's death.
- Granted
The Veteran's initial and increased ratings for atrial fibrillation associated with sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome have been denied. A TDIU claim has also been denied.
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