The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his service-connected head injury substantially contributed to his development of dementia which caused his death. The decision is based on medical opinions supporting this conclusion.
The deciding factor: Medical evidence established that the Veteran's service-connected head injury substantially contributed to his development of dementia, leading to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- advanced dementia, residuals of a head injury, left eye rectus muscle paralysis with diplopia, cervical disability, thoracic spine disability, left hip scar, left side facial nerve injury, loss of sense of smell, left eye ptosis, impaired taste sensation
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19132874
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,699 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19132874.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for earlier effective dates and increased ratings has been withdrawn by the Veteran's attorney, resulting in the dismissal of the appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for further development and consideration of the appellant's theory that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused or aggravated his obesity, which contributed to his death.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for a cervical disability, finding that it is as likely as not related to his active service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for loss of sense of taste, loss of sense of smell, and pelvic condition are denied. The claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder beyond unspecified trauma and stressor related disorder is also denied.
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