The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death, squamous cell carcinoma of the neck, is not related to his active military service or exposure to Agent Orange. The cancer was not included in the list of diseases presumed to be associated with exposure to Agent Orange and it is not considered a soft-tissue sarcoma.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was no evidence linking the veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the neck to his military service or exposure to Agent Orange, and therefore denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma of the neck
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 21, 2004
- Citation
- 0416130
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 999 · Granted: 31% (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 0416130.
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's service connection claims for squamous cell carcinoma of the neck and bad teeth with dry mouth as secondary to squamous cell carcinoma of the neck have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence linking these conditions to his military service, including presumed herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for larynx cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of the neck, finding no evidence linking these conditions to military service or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the neck, tonsil, lymph nodes, larynx, and tongue as there is no current diagnosis or evidence linking these conditions to service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA opinion regarding service connection for larynx cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma of the neck. The Veteran's claim will be reviewed by a qualified examiner who must provide an updated opinion on whether it is at least as likely as not that the cancer is related to service, specifically herbicide exposure.
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