The Board has determined that the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, basic eligibility for Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance under Chapter 35, Title 38, United States Code, and entitlement to service-connected VA burial benefits are not well-grounded.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not establish a plausible link between the veteran's military service and his terminal disease process: colon cancer. The appellant's statements regarding her husband's military history and alleged exposure to toxic chemicals in service were deemed insufficient by the Board due to lack of official documentation supporting these claims.
- Claimed conditions
- colon cancer, coccidioidomycosis (San Joaquin Valley Fever), skin cancer, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 16, 2000
- Citation
- 0004120
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 0004120.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus; granted service connection for erectile dysfunction and skin cancer; and restored the 10 percent rating for hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for skin cancer and a disorder manifested by urinary frequency, finding no evidence of current disability or sufficient link to the Veteran's active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of colon cancer, claimed as due to exposure to asbestos, for an addendum opinion considering additional evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and systemic lupus erythematosus as there was no evidence of onset during active service or etiological relationship to an in-service injury, event, or disease.
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