The Board denied the appellant's claims for service connection for the cause of her husband's death and entitlement to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA). The Board found that there was no evidence linking the veteran's metastatic insulinoma to his military service, exposure to herbicides, or any other condition. As a result, the cause of death was not deemed service-connected.
The deciding factor: The VA physician concluded that the cause of the veteran's death (metastatic islet cell carcinoma) could not be linked to Agent Orange exposure due to its rarity and lack of correlation with any known increased risk from exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic insulinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2005
- Citation
- 0517590
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 0517590.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for metastatic insulinoma, finding that the Veteran's current condition is a direct result of his soldering work while in the military during active duty.
- Granted
The Board found that the service member's death was caused by metastatic insulinoma, which may have been related to his exposure to Agent Orange during service. The claim for cause of death is granted, and basic eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits is established.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board previously denied the veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death and entitlement to Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA). The case is being remanded due to a need for additional medical opinions regarding the potential link between Agent Orange exposure and the veteran's terminal cancer.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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