The Board denied the claim for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) on the basis of service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, finding that dementia did not have its onset in service or was otherwise related to service. The Board also found that a service-connected disability did not cause or contribute substantially or materially to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The VA opinions provided by medical doctors and psychologists were probative and supported by evidence in the file, indicating that dementia did not manifest in service and was not related to any service-connected disability. The Board found no causal relationship between PTSD and dementia.
- Claimed conditions
- Dementia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19191524
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (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 19191524.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD with cognitive impairment or dementia was rated at 50 percent from July 11, 2005 to March 4, 2021. From March 4, 2021, the Veteran's condition was rated at 100 percent.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected anxiety disorder and exposures at Camp LeJeune contributed to his cause of death. The VA must obtain an addendum opinion addressing these issues.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and thus denied his claim for service connection for cause of death.
- Granted
The Veteran is granted an increased Level 2 stipend under the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) due to his need for supervision, protection, or instruction on a continuous basis due to cognitive decline, dementia symptoms, vision deficiencies, and recurring falls.
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