Granted
The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the evidence is in approximate balance as to whether the Veteran's service-connected lumbar spine and radiculopathy disabilities were contributory causes of his death.
The deciding factor: The decision was based on the favorable medical opinion from Dr. J.E., which indicated a more likely than not relationship between the service-connected back condition and the Veteran's fatal cardiopulmonary diseases, despite negative opinions from VA examiners.
- Claimed conditions
- bilateral hearing loss, lumbar spine degenerative disc disease, right lower extremity radiculopathy, tinnitus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 29, 2025
- Citation
- 25013413
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