ptsd Please help! Death certificate PTSD veteran

[hedgey]

My ex husband is in the hospital dying from an overdose yesterday of his PTSD medications. Because we had a daughter together, and he wisely married a wonderful woman for his 4th wife, I want to help her as much as possible.

Ex was a Viet Nam medic in 1967-68. He's 100% for PTSD, but not for more than 5 years (it was so hard for him to ask for help).

What will VA be looking for on the death certificate to consider it a service-connected death when the vet has PTSD?

If it seems bizarre to think there's a way to influence what the certificate says... when my father-in-law died in the nursing home a few years ago, I gave them the list of his SC conditions and they were happy to list one of them as his cause of death.

Please help with this question. I talked to the ICU nurse and he's in a coma, no brain activity, lungs full of gastric fluid. She doesn't think he'll last the night.

I really want to help this woman. She was the best stepmother I could have prayed for for my daughter. He wasn't often the best dad, but she was great and deserves whatever benefits we can get for her. She would definitely be eligible for DIC, as long as the VA counts his death as SC.

 

 

 

Edited February 13, 2017 by hedgey
clarification

[Tbird]

bump

[Berta]

Can she join us , if he does not recover?

"What will VA be looking for on the death certificate to consider it a service-connected death when the vet has PTSD?

 

"If it seems bizarre to think there's a way to influence what the certificate says... when my father-in-law died in the nursing home a few years ago, I gave them the list of his SC conditions and they were happy to list one of them as his cause of death." They were required by law to do that. When my husband died the coroner asked me what medical issues he had and one of them was SC PTSD. The coroner told me he knew PTSD was a very serious disability but here in NY they never put that on a death certificate.( maybe they would have to in a medication death, however)

The death certificate lists immediate cause of death as well as any conditions that contributed.

I hope the spouse will consider having an autopsy done. State laws often provide for free autopsies, and also Organ donors get free autopsies here in NY.

Regardless of if his death occurs at a private hospital or the VA, she will probably be asked to permit the autopsy.An autopsy is the most detailed way to determine what has caused death.

This could be an accidental overdose or a willful overdose.

"She would definitely be eligible for DIC, as long as the VA counts his death as SC."

The cause of death would determine what type of DIC claim she could file.They will probably definitely want to do the autopsy to also do a full toxicology report and that would reveal more that may but also may not award her DIC. I know that because I tried to help 2 widows locally ,in a similar PTSD situation, yet the vet's deaths could not be service connected at all.

 

 

 

Edited February 13, 2017 by Berta

[Berta]

need to add, tell the vet's spouse to keep all medications ,that are still in the veteran's home,in a safe place, if he should pass away soon.-in the same plastic bottles they are in.

[hedgey]

Berta, thanks for your help (thanks for the bump, Tbird)

They are in Florida.

Apparently he's been mixing up his meds lately. Over the past few days he forgot to take them and she thinks he just took all of the forgotten doses at once. He was on an anti-psychotic as well as anti-depressant & anti-anxiety meds. If he'd been laying on his side and not on his back, everything would likely be different right now.

I truly do not believe he would take pills for suicide. He was a medic and EMT for years and saw the vegetables that overdoses often create. No, if he wanted to end it, he would have done it more violently with less chance of recovery.

[hedgey]

Berta, I was typing while you entered your last post. I'll convey that to her. 

 

[hedgey]

I hope this isn't the case, but it's a possibility. What if he hasn't identified her as his spouse in his VA records? 

I meant to talk to her about this years ago when I knew he started treatment for PTSD. I didn't want to insult her by suggesting he would do that, but now I'm kicking myself... :(