The Board granted service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's end-stage chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and obstructive sleep apnea contributed substantially or materially to his death.
The deciding factor: The evidence was at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran's toxic exposure while stationed at Fort Bragg resulted in these conditions, which contributed substantially or materially to his death. The reasonable doubt created by this relative equipoise in the evidence must be resolved in favor of the Veteran.
- Claimed conditions
- end-stage chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, obstructive sleep apnea
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 26, 2025
- Citation
- A25055454
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 service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
- Dismissed
The Veteran withdrew the appeals for service connection for bilateral pes planus, obstructive sleep apnea, bilateral hearing loss, tinnitus, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the issue of entitlement to service connection for obstructive sleep apnea due to a duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
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