The Board found that the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, including eligibility for educational assistance benefits under Chapter 35, was not well-grounded. The evidence did not establish a medical nexus between the veteran's sarcoma and herbicide exposure in Vietnam or any other service-connected condition to his death.
The deciding factor: The appellant failed to present competent medical evidence linking the cause of her husband's death to service or any service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- sarcoma of the pharynx, postoperative residuals of fractured nose, laceration of the left hand
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 12, 2000
- Citation
- 0012618
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 0012618.
What this means for you
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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 remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for neck pain and residuals of laceration of the left hand due to a lack of medical evidence addressing their etiology. The Veteran will need to undergo VA examinations to determine if his current conditions are related to his military service.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the Veteran's disability level and symptomatology are adequately described by the current schedular rating criteria, thus no extraschedular rating is warranted.
- Granted
The Veteran's umbilical hernia was diagnosed during active service and granted service connection. For his left hand laceration, the initial compensable disability rating of zero percent is upheld, with no extraschedular consideration needed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for additional development, including obtaining service records and private treatment records. The appellant's claims for service connection will be readjudicated after these actions.
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