The Veteran's death was caused by a service-connected condition (psychiatric disability), and the claim for cause of death is granted.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established for a psychiatric disability, which contributed to the Veteran's death from myocardial infarction.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety reaction, malaria, filariasis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2020
- Citation
- 20068306
Veterans Law Judge
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 20068306.
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 decided to remand the case due to insufficient detail in a previous VA medical opinion regarding whether malaria or scarlet fever during service contributed to the Veteran's death. The case must be returned for further evaluation.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected conditions have rendered him in need of regular aid and attendance, which is granted for special monthly compensation.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for malaria was dismissed because the November 17, 2025 request for Board review came before the September 16, 2025 higher-level review of the same issue had been completed.
- Dismissed
The appeal has been dismissed due to the death of the Appellant, and no decision can be made on the underlying claims.
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