Citation Nr: 20009871
Decision Date: 02/06/20	Archive Date: 02/05/20

DOCKET NO. 16-63 748
DATE: February 6, 2020

ORDER

Entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death is granted.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Veteran died of coronary artery disease.

2. The Veteran’s coronary artery disease was related to his service-connected posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

CONCLUSION OF LAW

The criteria for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death are met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1101, 1110, 1116, 1310; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.159, 3.303, 3.309, 3.307, 3.310, 3.312.

REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

The Veteran served on active duty in the United States Army from January 1951 to October 1952. The Veteran’s decoration for this time of service included a Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, a Combat Infantry Badge, and a United Nations Service Medal. Unfortunately, the Veteran has passed away, the Appellant is his surviving spouse.

As an initial matter, the Board expresses its sympathy to the Appellant for the loss of her husband and recognizes the years of excellent service he provided to the country during his/her service in the United States Army.

Entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death

To establish service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, the evidence must show that a disability incurred in or aggravated by active service was the principal or contributory cause of death. See 38 U.S.C. § 1310; 38 C.F.R. § 3.312 (a). 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. Lathan v. Brown, 7 Vet. App. 359 (1995); 38 C.F.R. § 3.312 (c)(1).

At the onset, the Board recognizes that there is no dispute that the Veteran died of coronary artery disease as listed on his August 2015 death certificate. Nor is there any dispute that the Veteran was service connected for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as established in a March 2013 rating decision. The only matter of dispute is the potential relationship between the Veteran’s PTSD and his coronary artery disease, a nexus. 

On the matter of a nexus, the Board finds that the evidence presented by the Appellant in November 2019 provides a sufficient link between PTSD and coronary artery disease. Importantly, there is no negative evidence of record to weigh against this favorable etiological evidence. As such, the Board finds that service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death is granted.

 

 

GAYLE STROMMEN

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans’ Appeals

Attorney for the Board	J. Acosta, Counsel

The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential, and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.