The Board has determined that service-connected diabetes mellitus type 2 and heart dysfunction contributed to the Veteran's death, granting the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence is in equipoise regarding whether service-connected diabetes mellitus type 2 and heart dysfunction substantially or materially contributed to the Veteran’s death from ventricular tachycardia due to urosepsis. The Board found that the appellant's consistent attribution of death to both diabetes and heart dysfunction warranted consideration.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus type 2, heart dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2020
- Citation
- 20002399
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for diabetes mellitus type 2 and diabetic nephropathy (renal failure) as secondary to the Veteran's now service-connected hypertension and diabetes mellitus type 2, respectively.
- Dismissed
The appeal for entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) is dismissed as moot due to the Veteran's 100 percent combined rating assigned for his service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for higher ratings and earlier effective dates, except for an earlier effective date for service connection of lower extremity peripheral neuropathy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the claim for service connection of the Veteran's cause of death due to a predecisional duty to assist error in not obtaining relevant medical records from the state veteran's home.
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