The Veteran's service-connected medication use at least as likely as not caused his death or contributed substantially to it. The Board granted service connection for the cause of death and denied DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's chronic back pain medications, including fentanyl patches and dilaudid, contributed to his acute and chronic hypoxic and hypercarbic respiratory failure as a cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- acute on chronic hypoxic and hypercarbic respiratory failure, acute kidney injury, cardiogenic shock, chronic systolic heart failure, coronary artery disease (CAD), sick sinus syndrome, rectal bleeding
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 60%
- Decision date
- December 20, 2022
- Citation
- A22025908
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 A22025908.
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 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 Board has granted service connection for prostate cancer, coronary artery disease (CAD), diabetes mellitus type II (DM II), hypertension, and erectile dysfunction as secondary to service-connected DM II. The Veteran's exposure to Agent Orange during active service is presumed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's service connection claims for coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, peripheral vascular disease, varicose veins, and irritable bowel syndrome are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions regarding secondary service connection.
- Dismissed
The Board has dismissed the Veteran's appeal for earlier effective dates for hypertension and coronary artery disease (CAD) as both issues were previously decided by the Board on a presumptive basis under the PACT Act, which precludes an earlier effective date.
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