The Board denied reopening the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to lack of new and material evidence, as well as insufficient medical evidence linking the veteran's terminal cancer to his military service or service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The submitted evidence did not provide a significant change in outcome and failed to demonstrate any relationship between the veteran's fatal carcinoma and his active military service or his service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 24, 2000
- Citation
- 0001836
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0001836.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of the Veteran's death and his heart disorder. The appellant is asked to provide medical records, and an expert opinion on the nature and etiology of the Veteran's heart condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a VA medical opinion to determine if the Veteran's fatal metastatic carcinoma is directly related to his in-service herbicide exposure. The Appellant may still establish service connection on a direct basis, despite the malignancies not being listed as diseases presumptively associated with exposure to herbicide agents under 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e).
- Granted
The Board has granted the reopening of the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there is at least equipoise evidence to suggest a link between the Veteran's metastatic carcinoma and his exposure to Agent Orange during active service. The Board also found that the Veteran's cause of death was caused by this cancer.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to the need for additional evidence and a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected residuals of subtotal gastrectomy was a principal or contributory cause of his death.
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