The Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder (other specified anxiety disorder and other specified depressive disorder) is found to have caused or contributed substantially to his death due to acute intoxication from fentanyl and cocaine. The Board granted the claim for cause of death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's service-connected psychiatric disorder aggravated his substance use, leading to his death by acute intoxication.
- Claimed conditions
- Other specified anxiety disorder, Other specified depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2024
- Citation
- A24022035
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 A24022035.
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 other specified depressive disorder is rated at 70 percent, but no higher, for the entire appeal period.
- Granted
The reduction in rating for other specified anxiety disorder from 30 to 10 percent, effective May 1, 2025 was improper and restoration of the prior 30 percent rating is granted.,The reduction of acne rating from 10 percent to zero percent was improper and restoration of the 10 percent rating is denied.,The reduction in rating for lumbosacral strain from 40 percent to 10 percent was improper and restoration of the 40 percent rating is granted.
- Granted
The Veteran's depression is rated at a 70 percent disability rating, effective from the date of this decision.
- Granted
The Board has revised the August 2018 rating decision to grant service connection for other specified anxiety disorder due to a finding of clear and unmistakable error.
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