The Veteran's cause of death is granted as service-connected, with the issue of DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 being dismissed due to the grant of service connection.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the Veteran's cause of death was established based on in-service herbicide exposure (Agent Orange) and subsequent development of heart failure, which is considered a compensable disability.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiac failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 30, 2026
- Citation
- A26040606
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 A26040606.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not connected to his active-duty service, and therefore the claim for service connection for cause of death and entitlement to DIC is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death due to his service-connected conditions, finding that none of his service-connected conditions contributed to his cause of death.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was due to his service-connected coronary artery disease, which is the principal cause of death. The appeal for service connection for cause of death is granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the cause of death and service connection for duodenal cancer.
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