The Veteran's cause of death was listed as complications of dementia, but an amended certificate lists failure to thrive related to rectal surgery as the immediate cause. The service-connected impairment of anal sphincter control and hemorrhoids are not considered to have caused or contributed substantially to his death.,No service-connected burial benefits were awarded due to lack of service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not support a finding that the Veteran's service-connected conditions caused or materially contributed to his death, and no other service-connected condition was found to be proximately due to or the result of his service-connected conditions.,No service-connected burial benefits were awarded because the criteria for service connection for the cause of death have not been met.
- Claimed conditions
- Dementia, Impairment of anal sphincter control, Hemorrhoids
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19136754
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,612 · Granted: 16% (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 19136754.
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The Veteran's PTSD with cognitive impairment or dementia was rated at 50 percent from July 11, 2005 to March 4, 2021. From March 4, 2021, the Veteran's condition was rated at 100 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder and exposures at Camp LeJeune contributed to his cause of death. The VA must obtain an addendum opinion addressing these issues.
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