Citation Nr: 18142268
Decision Date: 10/15/18	Archive Date: 10/15/18

DOCKET NO. 15-09 914
DATE:	October 15, 2018
ORDER
Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
FINDING OF FACT
The Veteran’s primary cause of death was due to his service-connected seizure disorder.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
The criteria for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1310, 5107 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.312 (2018).
REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION
The Veteran served honorably on active duty in the U.S. Army from June 1961 until June 1964.  This matter comes to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a November 2012 rating decision of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The Veteran died in December 2010, and the appellant is his surviving spouse.
In September 2018, the appellant testified at a Board hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge.
In light of the fully favorable determination, no discussion of compliance with VA’s duty to notify and assist is necessary.
1. Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death
The death of a Veteran is considered as having been due to a service-connected disability where the evidence establishes that such disability was either the principal or contributory cause of death. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312(a) (2018). A principal cause of death is one which, singularly or jointly with some other condition, was the immediate or underlying cause of death, or was etiologically related thereto. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312(b).  A contributory cause of death is one which contributes substantially or materially to death, or aided or lent assistance to the production of death. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312(c).  Service-connected disabilities or injuries involving active processes affecting vital organs should receive careful consideration as a contributory cause of death, the primary cause being unrelated, from the viewpoint of whether there was resulting debilitating effects and general impairment of health to the extent that would render the person less capable of resisting the effects of either disease or injury primarily causing death. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312(c)(3).
At the time of the Veteran’s death, service connection was in effect for traumatic seizure disorder, major depressive disorder, residuals of a right femur fracture, a traumatic brain injury, and residuals of a right mandible fracture.
The Veteran’s original January 2011 death certificate lists metastatic lung cancer as the immediate cause of death.  A revised death certificate was issued in March 2013 by Dr. HA, who identified the immediate cause of death as a seizure due to advanced metastatic lung cancer.
In September 2018 the appellant submitted a letter from Dr. GT.  Dr. GT reviewed both death certificates, the post-mortem discharge sheet, progress notes from the hospital where the Veteran expired, and the ultimate discharge document.  Dr. GT opined that to reasonable degree of medical certainty, a principal cause of death was the Veteran’s service-connected seizure disorder, noting the results of the brain CT scan from the day of the Veteran’s death and the presence of a seizure right before his death.  The Board assigns this opinion significant probative value as it is based upon a review of the relevant records and provides a supporting explanation.  See Stefl v. Nicholson, 21 Vet. App. 120, 124 (2007; Prejean v. West, 13 Vet. App. 444, 448-9 (2000).
In this case, service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is warranted.  The immediate cause of death is listed as a seizure which Dr. GT opined was due to the Veteran’s service-connected seizure disorder.  There is no medical opinion to the contrary.  Thus, entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is granted.
 
K. MILLIKAN
Veterans Law Judge
Board of Veterans’ Appeals
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD	C. Smith, Associate Counsel