The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, which is presumed to be related to his exposure to Agent Orange during service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the veteran's fatal cancer was caused by his in-service exposure to Agent Orange, meeting the criteria for presumptive service connection under VA regulations.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 16, 2004
- Citation
- 0433317
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 0433317.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's lymphoma and scar have been granted effective dates of August 23, 2018. The Veteran is service-connected for his lymphoma with an initial noncompensable rating, and the RO has not assigned a compensable rating for his scar.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for malignant neoplasm of lymph nodes of the head, face, neck and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death is being remanded due to the need for a VA medical opinion regarding whether his cause of death, ischemic heart disease and hypertension, are service-connected. Additionally, the burial benefits claim is inextricably intertwined with these issues.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for an opinion regarding the causal relationship between the Veteran's cancers and his herbicide agent exposure in service, as well as the cause of death.
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