The Board found that the cause of the veteran's death, metastatic rectal carcinoma, was not related to service or any presumptive conditions. The claim for Dependents' Educational Assistance under Chapter 35 also failed due to lack of a permanent and total disability rating at the time of his death.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there is no evidence linking the cause of death (metastatic rectal carcinoma) to service or any presumptive conditions, such as Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic rectal carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 8, 2004
- Citation
- 0418138
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,242 · Granted: 26% (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 0418138.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for an additional opinion regarding the cause of the Veteran's death, specifically addressing exposure to various toxins during service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his fatal rectal carcinoma was caused by exposure to herbicide agents (including Agent Orange) during service. The decision is based on a presumption of exposure due to the Veteran's service in the Republic of Vietnam.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the appellant is denied DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 or 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is being reviewed due to his service-connected right peroneal neuropathy and the VA medical care he received. The RO will also consider whether he was entitled to benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.
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