The Board granted service connection for the cause of death, concluding that the Veteran's amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) contributed substantially and materially to his death.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether ALS contributed substantially and materially to the Veteran's death, and reasonable doubt was resolved in favor of the appellant.
- Claimed conditions
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 8, 2025
- Citation
- A25086905
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 A25086905.
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 denied the claims for earlier effective dates, finding that it was not factually ascertainable that the Veteran suffered from the loss of use of both feet prior to February 13, 2014.
- Denied
The Board denied the Appellant's claim for additional DIC benefits pursuant to 38 U.S.C. § 1311(a)(2) as the Veteran was not in receipt of, and was not entitled to receive, compensation for a service-connected disability that was rated totally disabling for a continuous period of at least eight years immediately preceding his death.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was due to ALS, a condition that became presumptively service-connected in September 2008. However, the appellant remarried prior to this change and is therefore not eligible for retroactive DIC benefits.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), was related to his military service and granted service connection for the cause of death effective January [redacted], 2002.
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