The Veteran's cause of death, coronary artery disease, is granted as service-connected due to exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Thailand. However, the Veteran was not receiving any compensation for a service-connected disability at the time of his death, so Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 are denied.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's coronary artery disease is presumed to have been caused by exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Thailand. As the cause of death was deemed service-connected, service connection for the cause of death is granted. However, as the Veteran did not receive any compensation for a service-connected disability at the time of his death, DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 are denied.
- Claimed conditions
- coronary artery disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 17, 2022
- Citation
- 22069667
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 22069667.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction is granted on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicide agents during his active duty in Korea.
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