Va Service Connection For Cause Of Death

The issue involved will be determined by exercise of sound judgment without recourse to speculation after a careful analysis has been made of all the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of the veteran including particularly autopsy reports.

Va service connection for cause of death. The Veteran died from a service-connected illness or injury or. A 10 year rule. In March of 2012 the Veterans wife filed an application for Dependency and Indemnity DIC benefits based on her husbands service-connected conditions contributing to his death. In the DIC context this theory can be used when a service connected condition is a contributory cause of the veterans death meaning the condition was substantial or material to the death the condition combined to cause death or that it aided or lent assistance to the production of death.

Vet was entitled to received total disability 100 for 10 years prior to the date of death regardless of the cause of death. The VA should conclude that the surviving spouse child or parent is eligible for DIC and should grant the benefit. As you can see there are many criteria you must meet in order to qualify for death benefits. The appellant testified before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge during a June 2014 Board hearing.

Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veterans death is remanded. According to the Veterans amended death certificate the Veterans immediate cause of death was non-ST segment myocardial infarction with underlying causes to include sepsis. REASONS FOR REMAND The appellant is the Veterans surviving spouse. The surviving spouse child or parent does not meet the criteria for death benefits.

If an autopsy of a veteran now states the cause of death is coronavirus instead of a service-connected disability it has the potential to jeopardize survivor benefits which are typically awarded. The VA determines there is no connection between the veterans cause of death and their military service. If the Veterans eligibility was due to a service-connected disability rated as totally disabling they must have had this rating. The VA will pay up to an established amount set.

07-17 131A DATE On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Houston Texas THE ISSUE Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veterans death. The VA however was initially unwilling to accept our private medical expert and the Board obtained a medical opinion from its own expert. The Veteran didnt die from a service-connected illness or injury but was eligible to receive VA compensation for a service-connected disability that was rated as totally disabling for a certain period of time. In November 2014 the Board remanded the claim for additional evidentiary development.

His death certificate indicated that the cause of death was chronic respiratory failure due to COPD and listed his service-connected shoulder injury chest muscle impairment and PTSD as conditions contributing to his death. The death of a veteran will be considered as having been due to a service-connected disability when the evidence establishes that such disability was either the principal or a contributory cause of death. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The cause of death on the Veterans death certificate is a service-connected condition.

Section 1318 is a liberalizing rule to allow more eligible survivors to recover DIC in the event that the cause of death was not service-connected. Here are 4 Rules that apply to Section 1318. Upon remand we obtained another medical expert who found that it was the service-connected ulcer that caused the need to stop the aggressive chemotherapy. Burial Allowance for Service-Connected Death Eligibility is established if the veteran died as a direct result of a service-connected disability or if a service-connected disability was found by the Department of Veterans Affairs to be a contributing cause for the veterans death.