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 care 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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,329 · Granted: 31% (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 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's CAD warrants a 60 percent rating, but the Board has determined that an earlier effective date is warranted due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding direct service connection.
- 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 Veteran's claim for an increased rating of 100 percent for CAD was granted effective November 28, 2023. The effective date is based on the date of a VA examination showing the increase in disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's adult son, the Appellant, is granted accrued benefits due and unpaid at the time of his father's death. The Board finds that the evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether the expenses borne by the Appellant were a result of the Veteran's last sickness and burial.
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