The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and eligibility for Chapter 35 benefits based on a grant of service connection for the cause of the death. The cause of death was metastatic colon cancer, which is not presumed to be related to herbicide exposure in Vietnam or any other service-connected condition.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no evidence linking the veteran's cause of death (metastatic colon cancer) to his military service or any service-connected disability. The appellant did not provide sufficient evidence to support her claim for service connection based on herbicide exposure in Vietnam, as she could not establish that the veteran had been exposed to Agent Orange during his service.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic colon cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 29, 2001
- Citation
- 0117422
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 0117422.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for eligibility for specially adapted housing, a special home adaptation grant, and financial assistance in purchasing an automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment. The claim of CUE in the September 14, 2017, rating decision was also denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's metastatic colon cancer was related to his exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during active service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, which was metastatic colon cancer, finding that it was related to his in-service asbestos exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that metastatic colon cancer was related to his conceded in-service herbicide exposure under the PACT Act. However, DIC benefits were denied as the Veteran did not meet the criteria for 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
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