The Board has determined that the veteran's diabetes mellitus, which is presumed to be service-connected due to herbicide exposure in Vietnam, contributed substantially or materially to his death from pancreatic cancer. The Board granted service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The veteran's diabetes mellitus was listed as a contributing cause of death and was found to have manifested to at least 10 percent prior to his death, meeting the criteria for presumptive service connection due to herbicide exposure. The progressive and debilitating nature of the diabetes also supported its contribution to the veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- pancreatic cancer, diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- April 26, 2004
- Citation
- 0410805
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 0410805.
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 service connection for pancreatic cancer as there was no evidence of a nexus between the in-service toxic exposure and the current condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and bilateral knee strain to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus; granted service connection for erectile dysfunction and skin cancer; and restored the 10 percent rating for hypertension.
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