The Veteran's claims for service connection for TBI and dementia, as well as his claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities (TDIU), were denied. His cause of death was also denied.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish that the Veteran had a chronic disability associated with the in-service TBI prior to his death, and the medical opinion provided by VA indicated that the dementia was more likely related to other factors such as alcoholism, methamphetamine dependency, and vascular risk factors rather than the service-connected TBI.
- Claimed conditions
- residuals of traumatic brain injury (TBI), dementia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 30, 2019
- Citation
- 19167602
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,812 · Granted: 30% (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 19167602.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not render him in need of regular aid and attendance of another, as his need for assistance is associated with nonservice-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Veteran's tinnitus and hearing loss claims are denied as there is no current diagnosis of these conditions.,The Veteran's high cholesterol, dementia, stroke, prostate cancer, cataracts, diabetes, hypertension, CHF, and myocardial infarction claims are denied due to lack of service connection evidence or insufficient evidence to establish a nexus between the disabilities and active duty service.,The Veteran was exposed to toxins during his military service but there is no evidence linking these exposures to any of the claimed conditions.
- Granted
The Board has granted an increase in PCAFC benefits to Level 2, finding that the Veteran requires continuous supervision or protection due to his cognitive decline and repeated falls.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for dementia because the Veteran's Notice of Disagreement was not timely filed.
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