The Veteran's death was caused by multiple conditions, including acute myocardial infarction. The Board found that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during service and presumed his acute myocardial infarction was caused by this exposure, leading to a grant of service connection for the cause of his death.
The deciding factor: The Board granted service connection based on presumptive exposure to herbicide agents during service, which led to the Veteran's acute myocardial infarction and subsequent death.
- Claimed conditions
- acute myocardial infarction, cardiopulmonary arrest, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20003322
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,242 · 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 20003322.
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.
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death was linked to his service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Dismissed
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- Denied
The Board denied service connection for asthma, COPD, pancreatitis, stroke, and left arm weakness (claimed as secondary to stroke) based on the presumption of exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to service or due to in-service exposure.
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