Citation Nr: 21061576
Decision Date: 10/04/21	Archive Date: 10/04/21

DOCKET NO. 15-44 149
DATE: October 4, 2021

REMANDED

Entitlement to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), to include based on service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is remanded.

REASONS FOR REMAND

The Veteran served on active duty from June 1978 to May 1991. The Veteran died on September [REDACTED], 2011. The appellant is his surviving spouse.

These matters are before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal of an August 2012 rating decision of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The Appellant presented testimony before the Board in March 2021.

At the time of his death the Veteran was service connected for a psychotic disorder, not otherwise specified rated 100 percent disabling. The Veteran's original October 2011 death certificate lists his immediate cause of death as "probable myocardial infarction" due to "cardiovascular disease." An amended death certificate issued August 15, 2019 lists the Veteran's immediate cause of death as "acute respiratory failure" due to "end stage Alzheimer's disease" due to a "psychotic disorder not specified atypical psychosis." There is no medical rationale or explanation provided for the August 15, 2019 amended death certificate. 

At her March 2021 hearing, the appellant contended that the Veteran's psychotic disorder, not otherwise specified contributed to his death, in that it impeded the Veteran's ability to control his eating and smoking, which in turn caused or aggravated his cardiovascular disease. Remand is required to obtain a medical opinion to consider whether the Veteran's psychotic disorder, not otherwise specified caused or contributed to his death.

The matters are REMANDED for the following action:

Provide the complete claims file and a copy of this Remand to an appropriate clinician. The clinician must state whether it is at least as likely as not that the Veteran's service-connected psychotic disorder, not otherwise specified:

a)	singly or jointly with some other condition, was the immediate or underlying cause of death or was etiologically related thereto, or contributed substantially or materially to death, combined to cause death, or aided or lent assistance to the production of death.

b)	proximately caused any other disorder, to include cardiovascular disease, which in turn singly or jointly with some other condition, was the immediate or underlying cause of death or was etiologically related thereto, or contributed substantially or materially to death, combined to cause death, or aided or lent assistance to the production of death?

c)	aggravated beyond its natural progression any other disorder, to include cardiovascular disease, which in turn singly or jointly with some other condition, was the immediate or underlying cause of death or was etiologically related thereto, or contributed substantially or materially to death, combined to cause death, or aided or lent assistance to the production of death?

A reasoned medical explanation must be provided to support all opinions. 

In providing the requested opinions, the clinician should discuss both the Veteran's original October 2011 death certificate which lists his immediate cause of death as "probable myocardial infarction" due to "cardiovascular disease" and the amended death certificate issued in August 2019 which lists the Veteran's immediate cause of death as "acute respiratory failure" due to "end stage Alzheimer's disease" due to a "psychotic disorder not specified atypical psychosis."

 

 

LAURA E. COLLINS

Veterans Law Judge

Board of Veterans' Appeals

Attorney for the Board	Bametzreider, Paul J.

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.