The Board of Veterans' Appeals has determined that the veteran's death was caused by his service-connected nicotine dependence, which contributed to his fatal cancer. The appeal is granted.
The deciding factor: Private physicians have indicated that the veteran's smoking significantly contributed to his death, and there are no medical opinions to the contrary associated with the claims file.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic colon cancer, chest empyema
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 9, 2001
- Citation
- 0120415
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 0120415.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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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