The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was due to a service-connected disability, specifically obesity which developed as a result of his service-connected knee disabilities. The Board found that this obesity contributed to the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The Board concluded that the Veteran's obesity, which existed at the time of his death, was caused by his service-connected knee disabilities and thus contributed substantially or materially to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- COVID-19, respiratory failure, renal failure, obesity
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 4, 2026
- Citation
- A26019688
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 A26019688.
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 Veteran's diabetes mellitus, type II, is granted on a secondary basis with obesity serving as an intermediate step due to service-connected low back disability, sciatica, and right shoulder disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The DIC claim is denied because the Veteran was not rated totally disabled for a continuous period of at least 10 years immediately preceding his death. The service connection issue is remanded due to duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases due to issues with the effective date for service connection and will consider new evidence submitted by the Veteran.
- Denied
The Veteran's causes of death were not found to be service-connected, as there was no credible evidence linking the conditions to his military service.
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