The Veteran's death was not due to his own willful misconduct, and he had a combined 70% service-connected disability rating at the time of his death. However, since none of his service-connected disabilities were rated as totally disabling, the criteria for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 are not met.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's combined service-connected disability rating was less than 100% at the time of his death, which is a requirement for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Claimed conditions
- right upper extremity cervical radiculopathy, diabetes mellitus, right knee arthroscopy residuals, cervical spine degenerative changes, tinnitus, lung cancer residuals with lobectomy residuals, lung cancer scar residuals, thoracic radiculopathy, left eye corneal tear scar residuals, left ear hearing loss, left upper extremity steam burn residuals, erectile dysfunction
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 25, 2024
- Citation
- 24003821
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 918 · Granted: 32% (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 24003821.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hearing loss, tinnitus, and an acquired psychiatric disorder due to incomplete medical records and need for further examination.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, arthritis, and memory loss. The decision found no evidence linking these conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's tinnitus is granted as service connected. The issues of foot disability and cardiovascular disorder are remanded for additional development.
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