Citation Nr: 18143453 Decision Date: 10/19/18 Archive Date: 10/19/18 DOCKET NO. 16-24 413 DATE: October 19, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is denied. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran’s death certificate establishes that he died of natural causes. 2. The Veteran was not service-connected for any disabilities during his lifetime. 3. The Veteran’s death was not caused by or otherwise etiologically related to a disorder incurred in service, and his death is not otherwise etiologically related to service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death have not been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1112, 1113, 1310 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.300, 3.303, 3.304, 3.307, 3.309, 3.312 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran served on active duty from March 1951 to March 1953. The Veteran died in December 2005. The appellant is his widow. Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death In order to establish service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, applicable law requires that the evidence show that a disability incurred in or aggravated by service either caused or contributed substantially or materially to death. For a service-connected disability to be the cause of death it must singly, or with some other condition, be the immediate or underlying cause, or else be etiologically related. For a service-connected disability to constitute a contributory cause, it is not sufficient to show that it casually shared in producing death, but rather it must be shown that there was a causal connection. 38 U.S.C. § 1310; 38 C.F.R. § 3.312 (2018). In the alternative, service connection for the cause of death may be warranted where the evidence indicates that the cause of the veteran's death should have been service connected. That is to say that, to establish service connection for a particular disability found to have caused his death, the evidence must show that the disability resulted from disease or injury which was incurred in or aggravated by service or, in the alternative, is secondary to another service-connected disability. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 38 C.F.R. § 3.303, 3.304, 3.310. The appellant is claiming entitlement to service-connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death. The Veteran died in December 2005 and the death certificate indicates natural causes as his cause of death. At the time of his death, the Veteran was in receipt of non- service-connected pension but he was not service-connected for any disability. The appellant has not identified any disability that may be attributable to his active duty service. The appellant filed a claim seeking service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death in January 2015 along with a copy of the Veteran’s death certificate. In a March 2015 correspondence, the appellant was asked to submit a copy of the Veteran’s death certificate that listed the cause of death and to submit a statement explaining why she did not continuously cohabitate with the Veteran until the time of his death. In December 2015, the appellant submitted a statement explaining that Veteran had been continually physically abusive to her and after one incident she called the police and the Veteran fled the home to avoid arrest and never returned. On the May 2016 substantive appeal, the appellant stated she was requesting copies of the Veteran’s medical records in hopes of obtaining a cause of death and they would be submitted to the RO upon receipt. A September 2016 notification letter informed the appellant she was being provided 30 days to submit proof of the Veteran’s cause of death. A November 2016 Report of General Information reflects that the AOJ spoke with the appellant’s representative and informed her that the 30-day period to submit proof of the Veteran’s cause of death had expired. The representative stated she would call the AOJ back to let them know if they should send the claim to the Board without a cause of death listed. The representative did not contact the AOJ and the claim was certified to the Board. Upon careful review of the evidence of record, the Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that any disease or injury was incurred during the Veteran’s active military service and was the principal or contributory cause of the Veteran’s death. The Board notes that although the AOJ states the certificate of death does not list a cause of death, it does in fact certify natural causes as the cause of death. No causal connection between the Veteran’s military service and his death is demonstrated by the evidence of record. The Board is sympathetic to the appellant’s contention however, the evidence of record does not support this contention. As the preponderance of the evidence is against the appellant’s claim of entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, the benefit-of-the-doubt rule does not apply. The claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death must be denied. 38 U.S.C. § 5107 (b); Gilbert v. Derwinski, 1 Vet. App. 49 (1990). THOMAS H. O'SHAY Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD K. Mitchell, Associate Counsel