The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's PTSD contributed substantially or materially to his coronary arteriosclerosis and subsequent death. The evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's PTSD resulted in alcohol abuse.
The deciding factor: The private psychologist's opinion established a link between the Veteran's service-connected PTSD and his in-service combat stressors, which caused him to use alcohol to self-medicate his symptoms, leading to coronary arteriosclerosis that contributed substantially or materially to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Coronary Arteriosclerosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 23, 2022
- Citation
- 22065655
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 22065655.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for PTSD is granted as the evidence shows a current diagnosis of PTSD, an in-service stressor, and a medical link between the two.
- Denied
The Veteran's PTSD has been rated at 50% since March 23, 2004. The Board found that a higher rating is not warranted prior to February 15, 2005 due to the severity of his symptoms and their impact on his social and occupational functioning.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD and any acquired psychiatric disorder, finding that there was no evidence to support a link between his current mental health conditions and his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, warranting a 70% disability rating. The Veteran also met the criteria for a TDIU due to his service-connected disabilities preventing him from securing or following a substantially gainful occupation.
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