The Veteran's cause of death is granted as the service connection for his cause of death, which includes cryptogenic cirrhosis requiring liver transplant and sepsis, is found to be at least as likely due to herbicide exposure in Vietnam. The Board finds that this exposure was both a principal and contributory cause of his death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's cryptogenic cirrhosis, related to Agent Orange exposure, made him materially less capable of resisting sepsis, the immediate cause of his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Cryptogenic cirrhosis, Sepsis, Cardiac arrest
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 19, 2024
- Citation
- A24019896
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 A24019896.
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 has determined that the Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and therefore denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has granted the appellant's petition to readjudicate her claim for service connection for cause of the Veteran's death due to new and relevant evidence. However, the case is remanded as the AOJ must consider the merits of the claim on its own.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability, and there is no evidence of a presumptive relationship to herbicide exposure. The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was due to VA carelessness, negligence, or lack of proper skill in not administering prophylactic antibiotics prior to his dental extractions. As a result, DIC benefits are granted.
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