The Board denied the appellant's claim for DIC benefits, finding that there was no competent evidence establishing a nexus between the cause of the veteran's death and service or showing that his service-connected disabilities substantially or materially contributed to the cause of his death.
The deciding factor: There is no indication in the service medical records that cancer was present during service. The Board found that metastatic cancer of the colon, which caused the veteran's death, is not one of the diseases subject to presumptive service connection as enumerated in 38 C.F.R. § 3.309(e).
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic carcinoma of the colon
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2005
- Citation
- 0502246
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,440 · Granted: 30% (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 0502246.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was metastatic carcinoma of the colon, but hypertension is not considered a contributory cause. The Board found that there was no evidence to support a connection between the Veteran's service-connected conditions and his death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that a remand is necessary to obtain additional medical opinions and records, as well as provide the Appellant with proper notice. The cause of death claim will be adjudicated in conjunction with the burial benefits claim.
- Granted
The Board has reopened the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her father's death due to new and material evidence. The Veteran was exposed to ionizing radiation in Hiroshima during World War II, but there is no direct evidence linking his colon cancer to this exposure.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to lack of evidence linking his terminal cancer to military service. The appellant submitted new evidence but it was not material as it did not relate to an unestablished fact necessary to substantiate her claim.
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