The Veteran's cause of death is granted due to his service-connected conditions contributing substantially or materially to his death. DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 are denied as the Veteran did not meet the criteria for receiving such benefits.
The deciding factor: The Veteran’s service-connected conditions, including diabetes and hypertension, contributed substantially or materially to his death from multiorgan system failure.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, type II diabetes mellitus with diabetic nephropathy (diabetes), arthritis of the elbows, hypertension, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), calcific tendonitis of the right quadricep of the right knee with chondromalacia, calcific tendonitis of the left quadricep of the left knee with chondromalacia, internal hemorrhoids, residual burn scars on both arms, both forearms, right abdomen, left lumbar area posteriorly, and upper part of trunk
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19195052
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,035 · 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 19195052.
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.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection of bilateral hearing loss and a ruptured right ear drum was dismissed due to the death of the Veteran.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss was noted upon entry into active duty service and did not increase in severity during service. Therefore, it denied his claim for service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Veteran will be asked to provide additional medical records and undergo a VA examination.
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