The Board found that the cause of death, carcinoma of the sigmoid colon, was not service-connected. The veteran's service-connected conditions did not play a significant role in causing or accelerating his death. Therefore, the claim for service connection for the cause of death and DIC under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 were both denied.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not show that any of the veteran's service-connected disabilities caused or contributed to his death from carcinoma of the sigmoid colon, which occurred more than five years after his separation from service and was not related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- carcinoma of the sigmoid colon
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 15, 2004
- Citation
- 0406661
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 680 · Granted: 24% (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 0406661.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the veteran's residuals of carcinoma of the sigmoid colon and assigned a noncompensable disability rating, but found that the symptoms are slight and do not warrant a higher rating.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected musculoligamentous strain, right knee, is currently rated at 10 percent and the Board finds that a higher rating is not warranted.
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