The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, which was presumed to be service-connected due to herbicide exposure in the Republic of Vietnam, significantly contributed to his death from acute respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia with pulmonary fibrosis and acute renal failure. The Board found that while diabetes mellitus was not the primary cause of death, it substantially contributed to the Veteran's untimely demise.
The deciding factor: The service-connected diabetes mellitus made it harder for the Veteran to fight off other diseases that ultimately caused his death.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, pulmonary fibrosis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute renal failure
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 22, 2020
- Citation
- 20005295
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 remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for right foot, left elbow, left hip, left ankle, and diabetes mellitus to obtain additional medical evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cervical spine condition, diabetes mellitus, heart condition, lumbar spine condition, and urinary frequency and voiding condition as there was no evidence of a current diagnosis or in-service incurrence or aggravation.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for asthma and remanded the claims for sinus disability, bilateral hip disability, right shoulder disability, hypertension, sleep apnea, diabetes mellitus, skin disability, back disability, bilateral neurological disability of the upper extremities, and bilateral neurological disability of the lower extremities.
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