The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death was oropharyngeal carcinoma, which is not service-connected. The appeal for dependents' educational assistance benefits and dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 were also denied.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was no evidence linking the veteran's oropharyngeal carcinoma to his military service, including exposure to herbicides in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- oropharyngeal carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2003
- Citation
- 0300877
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,377 · Granted: 17% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0300877.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has jurisdiction to consider the merits of the appeal for oropharyngeal carcinoma under the legacy appeals system, finding that the December 2018 Notice of Disagreement was adequate and timely.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for oropharyngeal carcinoma, related to his in-service exposure to herbicide agents, is granted. The Board found that the evidence supports a causal link between the Veteran's exposure and his cancer.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to oropharyngeal carcinoma, which is presumed to have been caused by herbicide exposure during service.,The claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 was dismissed as the cause of death was already established through service connection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's death was caused by Agent Orange exposure and smoking history.
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