Poulton and Repatriation Commission (Veterans' entitlements)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mrs Poulton against the Repatriation Commission's decision to refuse her claim for a war widow's pension. The dispute centred on whether the death of her late husband, Mr Clifford Poulton, from multi-organ failure and bowel ischaemia was causally linked to his eligible war service, specifically through hypertension and ischaemic heart disease allegedly caused by his alcohol consumption during service. The case was heard by Dr L Bygrave, Member, of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The Tribunal was required to determine the kind of death suffered by Mr Poulton within the meaning of sections 120A and 120B of the relevant Act, and whether his death was connected with his eligible war service. This involved assessing whether hypertension and ischaemic heart disease, as defined by specific Statements of Principles, were present and whether these conditions were contributed to in a material degree by his war service, with the standard of proof being the balance of probabilities.

The Tribunal considered evidence from consultant cardiologists and the applicant's daughter. Crucially, the Tribunal found significant discrepancies and inconsistencies in the evidence provided by Mrs Poulton regarding her husband's alcohol consumption. As the opinion of Associate Professor Haber, a key expert witness, relied heavily on this unreliable evidence, the Tribunal could not place weight on his opinion. Furthermore, the Tribunal noted that the death certificate listed multi-organ failure and bowel ischaemia as the causes of death. Applying the principle from *Collins and Repatriation Commission*, which requires a medical cause of death to be the ultimate cause, the Tribunal was not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Mr Poulton's death resulted from ischaemic heart disease and hypertension caused by alcohol consumption connected to his war service. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the Repatriation Commission's decision to refuse the war widow's pension.