The Veteran's service-connected PTSD contributed to his death, and the Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death. The claim for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 was denied due to lack of a continuous period of at least ten years of total disability rating prior to death. The claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 was also denied as the evidence did not establish that VA's negligence caused the Veteran’s death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected PTSD contributed to his death, and the Board granted service connection based on this causal relationship.
- Claimed conditions
- Alzheimer's Disease, CAD (Coronary Artery Disease), CHF (Congestive Heart Failure)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- November 7, 2019
- Citation
- 19184445
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not preclude him from securing and following a substantially gainful occupation prior to July 2, 2019. The Board denied the claim for TDIU on schedular and extraschedular bases.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for the award of special monthly compensation (SMC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1114(s) and 38 C.F.R. § 3.350(i), as the Veteran did not meet the criteria for SMC based on his service-connected disabilities prior to October 4, 2011.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by his service-connected disabilities, specifically Meniere’s syndrome and the cardiovascular conditions he had. The Board found that these conditions aggravated his heart issues and contributed to his cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's CAD and diabetes contributed to his cause of death, cerebrovascular disease. The VA is instructed to obtain all outstanding medical records and provide a medical opinion on this issue.
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