Citation Nr: 21075731 Decision Date: 12/21/21 Archive Date: 12/21/21 DOCKET NO. 17-40 616 DATE: December 21, 2021 ORDER Entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. The Veteran passed away in February 2016. His original death certificate listed the immediate cause of death as esophageal cancer. 2. Prior to his death, the Veteran was in receipt of service connection for coronary artery disease, hearing loss, and tinnitus. 3. The evidence shows that the Veteran's death certificate was amended in February 2021 to include coronary artery disease as a cause of death. 4. The evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether service-connected coronary artery disease contributed to cause the Veteran's death. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for cause of the Veteran's death have been met. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1310; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.102, 3.303, 3.304, 3.312. REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION The Veteran had active service from November 1968 to November 1970, to include service in the Republic of Vietnam. He passed away in February 2016. His surviving spouse is the appellant in this matter. In April 2020, the Appellant testified before the Board at a virtual hearing. A transcript of the hearing is associated with the claims file. In March 2021, the Board issued a decision denying entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) under the provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1310 based on a finding that service-connection was not warranted for the cause of the Veteran's death. The Appellant appealed, and the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Court) issued an Order in October 2021 granting a Joint Motion for Remand (JMR) seeking to vacate and remand the March 2021 Board decision. Specifically, the parties to the JMR agreed that the Board had failed to discuss relevant evidence when finding that the Veteran's cause of death was not due to his service-connected coronary artery disease. The Appellant contends that the Veteran's service-connected heart disease contributed to his death, or that it hastened the Veteran's death from esophageal cancer. VA death benefits are payable to the surviving spouse of a veteran if the veteran died from a service-connected disability. 38 U.S.C. § 1310; 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.5, 3.312. In order to establish service connection for the cause of a veteran's death, the evidence must show that a disability incurred in or aggravated by active military service was the principal or contributory cause of death. In order to be a contributory cause of death, it must be shown that the service-connected disability contributed substantially or materially to cause death; that it combined to cause death; or that it aided or lent assistance to the production of death. It is not sufficient to show that the service-connected disability causally shared in producing death but rather it must be shown that there was a causal connection between the service-connected disability and the veteran's death. 38 C.F.R. § 3.312(b), (c). In this case, the original death certificate reflects that the Veteran died in February 2016 and that the underlying cause of death was esophageal cancer. However, an amended death certificate received in February 2021 shows that coronary artery disease was specifically listed a contributory cause of death. During his lifetime, the Veteran was service-connected for coronary artery disease. The record also contains evidence that the Veteran suffered from cardiac symptoms from the time of his cardiac bypass surgery in 2004 up until his death in February 2016. While a September 2020 VA clinician opined that the Veteran's heart disease was less likely than not a contributing cause of the Veteran's death, the examiner did not consider some evidence in the record that showed the Veteran was indeed suffering from cardiac symptoms after 2004, including in November 2013, November 2014, and March 2015. The Board adds that in March 2020, Dr. R.K. submitted a statement in which he stated that it was at least as likely as not that the Veteran's coronary artery disease was a contributing factor leading to the Veteran's death. Although the Board previously afforded limited probative value to this opinion, the opinion has been more recently bolstered by the amended death certificate which, notably, includes coronary artery disease as a condition that contributed to the Veteran's death. Given the foregoing, the Board finds that the evidence is in equipoise as to whether service connection is warranted for the cause of the Veteran's death. The Veteran's amended death certificate indicates that the Veteran's coronary artery disease was a significant condition contributing to death. Moreover, medical evidence shows that the Veteran suffered from cardiac symptoms leading up to his death from esophageal cancer, and Dr. R.K. was of the opinion that such disability contributed to death. As such, entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted. V. Chiappetta Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans' Appeals Attorney for the Board Polly Johnson, 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.