The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, which was determined to be substantially or materially contributed to by diabetes mellitus, type II and hypertension, both caused by obesity resulting from a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The private medical opinion provided evidence that the Veteran's service-connected disabilities led to his obesity, which in turn caused or contributed to the development of diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease, all of which were found to be substantial factors in causing the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- Diabetes mellitus, type II, Hypertension, Coronary artery disease
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 30, 2025
- Citation
- A25048039
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus type II and hypertension, to include as secondary to left orchiectomy, for further development in accordance with the PACT Act.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various disabilities and denied higher ratings for several service-connected conditions.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for various conditions, including diabetes mellitus, type II, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, asthma/lung disease, vision disability, bilateral plantar fasciitis, leukocytosis, kidney disease/kidney stones, enlarged prostate, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis, lumbar spine disability, right ankle disability, and left ankle disability.
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