The Veteran's death was caused by end stage COPD due to diabetes mellitus, type II. The Board found that the service-connected diabetes mellitus and non-service-connected COPD contributed to the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The Board interpreted Dr. B’s findings as consistent with the medical evidence of record, finding that the Veteran died from cardiac arrest caused by end stage COPD due to preexisting CAD (diabetes mellitus, type II).
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease (CAD), end stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- October 1, 2020
- Citation
- 20064036
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,200 · Granted: 43% (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 20064036.
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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The Veteran withdrew his appeal regarding the claims for sleep apnea and an increased disability rating for diabetes mellitus, type II.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for diabetes mellitus, type II, as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected PTSD. The decision finds that the Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II is proximately due to his service-connected PTSD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection and TDIU are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding the etiology of his coronary artery disease.
- Granted
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II, is granted on a secondary basis with obesity serving as an intermediate step due to service-connected low back disability, sciatica, and right shoulder disabilities.
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