The Veteran's death was caused by atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and the Board found that his service in or near the DMZ during the specified period provided sufficient evidence to grant service connection for cause of death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran served in an administrative company near the DMZ and had been approved for hostile fire pay, which resolved any doubt in favor of the appellant's claim.
- Claimed conditions
- Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, Carcinoma of the pancreas
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20005323
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,812 · 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 20005323.
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 the need for further development regarding toxic exposures and a VA examination.
- Granted
The Veteran's heart conditions and PTSD were rated at their highest levels (100% for heart conditions, 70% for PTSD) effective December 11, 2019. Additionally, the Veteran was granted benefits related to his disabilities.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of January 9, 2018 for the award of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) based on the cause of death due to acute myocardial infarction. The decision is final as it relates back to the date entitlement arose.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeal for a higher rating for his coronary artery disease and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease was denied. The current rating of 10 percent is maintained.
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