Citation Nr: 18146125 Decision Date: 10/30/18 Archive Date: 10/30/18 DOCKET NO. 14-00 764 DATE: October 30, 2018 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted. FINDING OF FACT The persuasive evidence of record demonstrates that the Veteran's cardiomegaly which contributed materially to his cause of death developed as a result of hypertension manifest within one year of his separation from active service. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1112 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303, 3.307, 3.309, 3.312 (2018). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSION The appellant is the Veteran’s former spouse and custodian of his children, J.T.S. and C.A.H. The Veteran served on active duty from November 2004 to February 2006 and from June 2006 to November 2006. The Veteran died in October 2007. This matter comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from a September 2012 rating decision by the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Regional Office (RO) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Appellate jurisdiction was subsequently transferred to the RO in Louisville, Kentucky. In July 2015, the appellant testified at a video conference hearing before the undersigned Veterans Law Judge. A copy of the transcript of that hearing is of record. 1. Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death A veteran’s surviving child is eligible for dependency and indemnity (DIC) benefits when a qualifying veteran dies from a service-connected disability. 38 U.S.C. § 1310 (2012); 38 C.F.R. § 3.5(a) (2018). The service-connected disability may be either the principal or a contributory cause of death. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312(a) (2018). It is the principal cause if it was “the immediate or underlying cause of death or was etiologically related” to the death. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312(b). It is a contributory cause if it “contributed substantially or materially” to the cause of death, “combined to cause death,” or “aided or lent assistance to the production of death.” 38 C.F.R. § 3.312(c)(1). In order to be a contributory cause of death, it must be shown that there were debilitating effects due to a service-connected disability that made the veteran materially less capable of resisting the effects of the fatal disease or that a service-connected disability had material influence in accelerating death, thereby contributing substantially or materially to the cause of death. See Lathan v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 359 (1995). Under the relevant laws and regulations, service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. § 1110 (2012). Generally, the evidence must show: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 1166-67 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Certain chronic diseases, including hypertension (cardiovascular-renal disease), are subject to presumptive service connection if manifest to a compensable degree within one year from separation from service even though there is no evidence of such disease during the period of service. This presumption is rebuttable by affirmative evidence to the contrary. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1112, 1113 (2012); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.307(a)(3), 3.309(a) (2018). It is the policy of VA to administer the law under a broad interpretation, consistent with the facts in each case, with all reasonable doubt to be resolved in favor of the claimant. 38 C.F.R. § 3.102 (2018). The Veteran’s death certificate shows he died in October 2007 as a result of multi-drug intoxication. Cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart) was identified as a significant condition significantly contributing to death but not resulting in the underlying immediate cause of death. A November 2007 autopsy report included diagnoses of multi-drug intoxication and cardiomegaly with left ventricular hypertrophy. A VA medical expert opinion was obtained in May 2018 which found it was unlikely that the Veteran’s cardiomegaly was related to military service. The examiner, however, noted that the Veteran’s cardiomegaly was possibly due to hypertension that existed at the time of death. Reference was made to an autopsy report. The persuasive evidence demonstrates that the Veteran's cardiomegaly contributed materially to his cause of death and that it developed as a result of hypertension. He exited service in November 2006 and died in October 2007, which is less than a year. Such would trigger the presumption of service connection for hypertension. Indeed, although service records show the Veteran lost time from active service beginning in October 2006, his death is shown to have occurred within one year of that date. The Board finds that the May 2018 VA examiner’s use of the term “possibly” in describing the relationship between the Veteran’s established diagnosis of cardiomegaly and hypertension based upon the findings of an autopsy report is not too equivocal for an adequate determination in this case. Nor is the finding that it was unlikely his cardiomegaly was related to military service inconsistent with a finding that hypertension had manifested within one year of active service. Therefore, the Veteran’s hypertension is presumed to be a service-connected disability and the appellant’s claim for entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death must be granted. MICHAEL A. HERMAN Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD T. Douglas, Counsel