The Board granted Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits to the Veteran's widow as the service-connected bipolar disorder, type I, was found to have contributed substantially and materially to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The evidence is in approximate equipoise that the service-connected bipolar disorder, type I, significantly contributed to the Veteran's smoking and use of medications which increased his risk for pancreatic cancer, leading to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Bipolar Disorder, Type I
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25019612
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 275 · Granted: 33% (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 A25019612.
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
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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