The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by any service-connected disability and denied the claim.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of cardio-respiratory failure, cerebral edema, carcinoma in the brain, or generalized carcinomatosis during service. The appellant could not provide medical evidence demonstrating nicotine dependence.
- Claimed conditions
- cardio-respiratory failure, cerebral edema, metastatic carcinoma in the brain, generalized carcinomatosis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 10, 2002
- Citation
- 0204368
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0204368.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's cause of death is related to service, including exposure to herbicide agents. The issue will be reconsidered after further development.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for the cause of death and dependency and indemnity compensation due to new evidence received since the last denial. The Veteran's cause of death was attributed to complications from stage IV melanoma, which is presumed to have been caused by his in-service exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there is no medical or lay evidence supporting that his service-connected disabilities caused or contributed to his death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that liver cancer and lung cancer were not related to service. The Board also found that presumptive service connection for liver cancer due to herbicide exposure was not applicable.
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