The Board denied the Appellant's request for an earlier effective date for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, finding that the earliest possible effective date is September 15, 2017.
The deciding factor: The effective date for a grant of service connection for the cause of a veteran’s death cannot be prior to one year from the date of the veteran's death due to the specific statutory provision governing such cases.
- Claimed conditions
- Cardiogenic shock
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19163082
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,188 · Granted: 23% (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 19163082.
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The Veteran's heart disability was not caused by VA treatment, and the Board found that his additional disabilities were not proximately caused by VA fault. Therefore, compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for a heart disability is denied.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by cardiopulmonary arrest due to heart disorders, with significant contributing causes including diabetes and angioplasty. The Board found that the Veteran's PTSD contributed substantially to his heart conditions, leading to a grant of service connection for the cause of death.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock, is presumed to be due to exposure to herbicide agents in service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided that additional evidence is needed to determine if the Veteran was exposed to Agent Orange while stationed at Camp Samae San in Thailand, which could potentially grant service connection for his cause of death.
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