The Board granted service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder was at least as likely as not a contributing factor in his end-stage congestive heart failure.
The deciding factor: The private examiner concluded that the Veteran's service-connected depressive disorder directly contributed to the development of hypertension, which more likely than not contributed substantially and materially to the development of his cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- depressive disorder
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 17, 2025
- Citation
- A25052898
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 Board granted a disability rating of 50 percent for the Veteran's acquired psychiatric disorder, characterized as depressive disorder, effective May 1, 2017.
- Partly granted
The Veteran is granted service connection for migraine headaches secondary to tinnitus, effective April 1, 2021. The claim for an earlier effective date for depressive disorder was denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an acquired psychiatric disorder to obtain a VA examination and etiological opinion.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for lumbar spine degenerative arthritis, left and right lower extremity radiculopathies, left and right hip pain, right knee degenerative arthritis, generalized anxiety disorder, and depressive disorder.
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