Cause of death on death certificate

[isis297]

What is the name of your state? NC

My FIL died a few days before Christmas. He has had Parkinsons for the last 10 years, but when he died, that was started by him falling and breaking his hip. He had a partial hip replacement and never fully recovered after it. The doctor ended up putting his cause of death as Parkinsons even though that isn't what killed him.

My MIL has tried getting it fixed and the doctor won't respond. Does she have any other recourse? This affects my FIL's life insurance she's supposed to receive and now that she was diagnosed with aggressive lung cancer just a month after he died, she really needs this.

Thank you!

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? NC

My FIL died a few days before Christmas. He has had Parkinsons for the last 10 years, but when he died, that was started by him falling and breaking his hip. He had a partial hip replacement and never fully recovered after it. The doctor ended up putting his cause of death as Parkinsons even though that isn't what killed him.

My MIL has tried getting it fixed and the doctor won't respond. Does she have any other recourse? This affects my FIL's life insurance she's supposed to receive and now that she was diagnosed with aggressive lung cancer just a month after he died, she really needs this.

Thank you!

But it was the Parkinson's that killed him. He would not have fallen except for the Parkinson's and he would have recovered more easily from the hip replacement without the Parkinson's.

I cannot imagine a life insurance policy that would refuse to pay if someone died from a disease. Was the policy purchased AFTER he was diagnosed and the diagnosis not disclosed?

 

[isis297]

But it was the Parkinson's that killed him. He would not have fallen except for the Parkinson's and he would have recovered more easily from the hip replacement without the Parkinson's.

I cannot imagine a life insurance policy that would refuse to pay if someone died from a disease. Was the policy purchased AFTER he was diagnosed and the diagnosis not disclosed?

It's my understanding it will affect what my MIL will receive from his military benefits. My FIL has paid into the Survivor's Benefits I think it's called from the beginning. Well before he was diagnosed with Parkinsons. She said it is absolutely affecting the benefits...

 

[Zigner]

I suspect that best you could hope for is an amendment to show Parkinson's as the cause of death with the fall as a contributing factor.

 

[FlyingRon]

Survivor Benefit Plan doesn't sound like it will be affected here unless she's arguing that the hip problems were somehow service related.

 

[Shadowbunny]

It's my understanding it will affect what my MIL will receive from his military benefits. My FIL has paid into the Survivor's Benefits I think it's called from the beginning. Well before he was diagnosed with Parkinsons. She said it is absolutely affecting the benefits...

Is this under the Veterans' Group Life Insurance or Service Disabled Veterans Insurance? Because I have a feeling she's misunderstanding what she's being told. Please have her contact the VA (via email or phone) to get clarification. https://www.benefits.va.gov/INSURANCE/resources-contact.asp

 

[isis297]

According to her, both my SIL and she tried contacting numerous people about it. She asked the doctor to add another line to the cause and the doctor simply told her she has never been challenged before. I guess she didn't like that because she won't respond to my MIL now. My question is, in the absence of this doctor amending the certificate, is there anybody else who can amend it? I would guess it would be easy for somebody else to get his records...I just don't know who to tell her to call since this doctor is ignoring her.

@Shadowbunny I appreciate your comment. I will ask her.

 

[justalayman]

But it was the Parkinson's that killed him. He would not have fallen except for the Parkinson's and he would have recovered more easily from the hip replacement without the Parkinson's.

I cannot imagine a life insurance policy that would refuse to pay if someone died from a disease. Was the policy purchased AFTER he was diagnosed and the diagnosis not disclosed?

That would be like saying I died from bad eyesight if I wasn’t wearing my glasses and tripped and hit my head and died from the injury.



At Most it may be considered a complication due to Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s itself is generally not considered fatal so you don’t die from Parkinson’s. You die from complications associated with Parkinson’s.

 

[Shadowbunny]

It's going to be far, far easier (read: possible) to get clarification on the benefits rather than getting the doctor to change the CoD. MIL can also google "Veterans Service Organizations + North Carolina" and you'll find charity organizations (like the Purple Heart Association, VFW, etc) who have people who will help her.

Seriously - having her benefits affected because of the CoD is just not normal and highly unlikely when it comes to military benefits.

 

[FlyingRon]

Which county in NC? Here in Catawba we have quite a proactive veteran's support office at the government center.

 

[Shadowbunny]

And I just realized you mentioned "survivor's benefit." That's a function of his military pension (aka retirement benefit) not life insurance. Life insurance has beneficiaries, not survivor's benefit. Opting for the survivor's benefit means that he received a lower amount of pension in retirement in order for it to continue after his death. The maximum benefit is 55% of the retiree's pension; so after a retiree's death the surviving spouse would therefore get a smaller amount than the retiree got.

Is it possible that this is what she's talking about? Because the Survivor's Benefit Program (SBP) does not have anything to do with cause of death. You can read more about SBP here: https://militarypay.defense.gov/Benefits/Survivor-Benefit-Program/Overview/

 

[isis297]

Which county in NC? Here in Catawba we have quite a proactive veteran's support office at the government center.

She lives outside of Charlotte. I don't know what county that is.

 

[FlyingRon]

PM me a city name or a zip code and I'll look it up.

 

[isis297]

And I just realized you mentioned "survivor's benefit." That's a function of his military pension (aka retirement benefit) not life insurance. Life insurance has beneficiaries, not survivor's benefit. Opting for the survivor's benefit means that he received a lower amount of pension in retirement in order for it to continue after his death. The maximum benefit is 55% of the retiree's pension; so after a retiree's death the surviving spouse would therefore get a smaller amount than the retiree got.

Is it possible that this is what she's talking about? Because the Survivor's Benefit Program (SBP) does not have anything to do with cause of death. You can read more about SBP here: https://militarypay.defense.gov/Benefits/Survivor-Benefit-Program/Overview/

From what I understand there was an accidental death policy which apparently a broken hip/death due to surgery of one is an exclusion of, a life insurance policy, and survivor benefits. All I know is, she said what she was going to receive was going to be less because of the way the CoD was listed. Is there no way to just get the CoD changed by someone other than the original doctor?

 

[FlyingRon]

I sent the poster the link for the Veteran's service office in his mother in law's county. If broken hip is excluded, then it's to her advantage the death be blamed on Parkinsons.