The Veteran's death was caused by his service-connected exposure to Agent Orange, which contributed to the development of hypertensive cardiovascular disease. The Board found that the evidence is in equipoise and granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner initially determined that the Veteran’s death was less likely than not due to herbicide exposure, but a subsequent private medical report from a board-certified cardiologist concluded that Agent Orange exposure contributed to the development of hypertension, which led to the Veteran's death. The Board found this evidence in equipoise and granted service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Hypertensive cardiovascular disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 13, 2020
- Citation
- 20053803
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 20053803.
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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- Denied
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- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient reasoning and lack of a medical opinion regarding the cause of death. The Veteran's cause of death was listed as cardiorespiratory arrest due to liver cancer, COPD, and ethanolism. A medical opinion is needed to determine if these conditions are related to his military service.
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