The Veteran's service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, and other conditions contributed to his death from acute fentanyl intoxication.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion found that the Veteran’s death was due to self-medication for his service-connected PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic stress disorder, Degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, Right lower extremity radiculopathy with right knee strain, Left lower extremity radiculopathy with left knee strain, Hypertension, Posttraumatic left hand scar
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 13, 2019
- Citation
- 19185676
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 Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of May 9, 2022, for the grant of service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder with generalized anxiety disorder, other specified depressive disorder, and alcohol use disorder.
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