The Board found that the cause of death, metastatic squamous cell cancer, was not incurred in or aggravated by military service and is not causally related to a service-connected condition. The veteran's lung cancer, which caused his death, was not shown to be due to Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that the cause of death, metastatic squamous cell cancer, did not have its onset in or was aggravated by military service and is not causally related to a service-connected condition. The lung cancer which caused his death was not linked to Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic squamous cell cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2004
- Citation
- 0416928
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 541 · Granted: 32% (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 0416928.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a need for an opinion regarding whether the Veteran's cause of death, metastatic squamous cell cancer, is related to his military service and specifically to toxic exposure risk activities during Persian Gulf War service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a VA medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's tonsillar cancer was related to Agent Orange exposure during service.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was caused by metastatic squamous cell cancer, which is not service-connected. His service-connected diabetes did not contribute substantially or materially to his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found that a rationale for the opinion rendered is inadequate and thus requires a new VA medical opinion to determine if the service-connected diabetes mellitus contributed substantially or materially to the Veteran's death, combined with his death, or aided in producing it.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.