Does a service-connected condition have to be listed on the death certificate?

Details

• Death certificates are often completed quickly and may not capture every condition that medically contributed to death, especially chronic or underlying conditions.
• A medical nexus opinion connecting a documented service-connected condition to the cause(s) of death can support a claim even when the certificate lists a different immediate cause.
• VA adjudicators under 38 CFR § 3.312 evaluate contributory cause based on the full record, including whether the service-connected condition materially weakened the body's resistance or otherwise contributed to death.
• When a death certificate does not mention the service-connected condition, gathering supporting medical evidence becomes more important to the claim.