The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, which was related to his service-connected disabilities with obesity as an intermediate step. The appeal for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was dismissed.
The deciding factor: The private medical opinion provided evidence that the Veteran's service-connected conditions contributed substantially to his death through mechanisms involving pain, altered biomechanics, and psychological distress, leading to physical inactivity and subsequent obesity which necessitated bariatric surgery resulting in post-operative complications.
- Claimed conditions
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Cause of Death (Laparoscopic Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy)
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 7, 2024
- Citation
- 24032766
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) on the basis of 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error in that the prior medical opinions are inadequate.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for further development and issuance of a supplemental statement of the case.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for a respiratory condition, including COPD, finding that there was no evidence linking his current COPD to his time in service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
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