The veteran's cause of death was not service-connected, and his service-connected disabilities did not materially contribute to his death. The appellant is not eligible for Dependents' Educational Assistance under Chapter 35.
The deciding factor: The VA physician determined that the esophageal carcinoma that caused the veteran's death was not related to his military service or exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- post-traumatic stress disorder, postoperative residuals of a shell fragment wound and punji stake wounds of the left leg and ankle with muscle hernia, residuals of a shell fragment wound of the right lower thigh with retained foreign body, superficial scars, residual of a shell fragment wound of the right leg, anal fissure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- February 13, 2006
- Citation
- 0604108
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (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 0604108.
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