The petition to reopen the claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is granted. The appeal is allowed to that extent only, and the claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is remanded.
The deciding factor: New evidence has been received which relates to unestablished facts necessary to substantiate the claim of entitlement to service connection for cause of the Veteran’s death.
- Claimed conditions
- Pulmonary Embolus, Gastrointestinal Bleeding
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19196915
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,886 · Granted: 24% (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 19196915.
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 has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the cause of death and potential service connection. The Veteran's cause of death was congestive heart failure, which is believed to be caused by hypertension and pulmonary embolus.
- Granted
The Board has determined that exposure to chemicals during service, particularly diesel fuel fumes from the Veteran's duties as an auto mechanic, may have contributed to his death due to a pulmonary embolus. The evidence is in equipoise regarding whether this exposure substantially contributed to the cause of death.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his COPD was caused by exposure to herbicide agents in service. The decision is based on the link between his COPD and his presumed exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Veteran's disability manifested by fatigue, joint pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, headaches, shortness of breath, nausea, body shakes, and diarrhea is not shown to meet the criteria for a rating in excess of 40 percent. The appeal period began one year prior to the date VA received the claim for an increased rating.
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