The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death due to esophageal and gastric cancer, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service or presumed Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence showing a direct causal relationship between the veteran's terminal esophageal and gastric cancers and his active duty service.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal carcinoma, gastric carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 12, 2006
- Citation
- 0600991
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 493 · Granted: 28% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0600991.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board granted service connection for Barrett's esophagitis, GERD, and esophageal carcinoma based on the Veteran's exposure to herbicides during active service in Vietnam.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for TDIU and DEA benefits due to unresolved issues regarding his service-connected disabilities and their impact on his ability to work. The case will be referred to the Director, Compensation Service, for consideration of whether a higher effective date is warranted.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by gastric carcinoma, which the Board found to be related to his exposure to herbicide agents in service. As a result, DIC benefits are granted.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim to reopen service connection for cause of death, finding that the Veteran's gastric carcinoma (stomach cancer) is a result of his in-service exposure to Agent Orange. As this condition is considered a service-connected disability, it was determined as the immediate cause of the Veteran's death.
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