The Board previously denied the appellant's retroactive DEA benefits for enrollment pursued more than one year prior to January 20, 1994. However, due to a regulatory amendment and recent changes in the law, the Board may now consider retroactive payments of DEA benefits for periods of enrollment up to one year before the receipt date of her application for educational assistance benefits.
The deciding factor: The regulatory amendment and Act favor the appellant as it allows consideration of an applicant's eligibility date for Chapter 35 benefits in determining effective dates for awards of educational assistance.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 6, 2001
- Citation
- 0120131
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 0120131.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
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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