The Board found that the service-connected gastrointestinal disability did not cause or contribute to the veteran's death from adenocarcinoma at the duodenal ulcer. The claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 was also denied due to lack of entitlement to a total disability rating.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions concluded that the service-connected gastrointestinal disability did not cause or contribute to the adenocarcinoma that caused the veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- Adenocarcinoma of the duodenal ulcer, Left deep vein thrombosis (DVT), Pancreatitis
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 16, 2006
- Citation
- 0604474
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,293 · Granted: 17% (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 0604474.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for an acquired psychiatric disorder, hematemesis, hyperekplexia (hyperlexia), bleeding esophagus, erectile dysfunction, gallstones, hepatomegaly and hepatic steatosis, pancreatitis, and sleep apnea due to inadequate VA medical opinions. The Veteran's mental health issues are related to service, but the claims for these conditions will be remanded for a new VA examination.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claims for an acquired psychiatric disorder and pancreatitis due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, requiring further medical examination.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Veteran's acne was granted a 10 percent rating for the period prior to March 26, 2021, and denied a compensable rating thereafter. Service connection was granted for diabetes mellitus and pancreatitis as secondary conditions.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss, IBS, left hip disability, right hip disability, left knee disability, and right knee disability. The effective date of March 7, 2022, was granted for the award of service connection for right lower extremity sciatica, and November 18, 2021, was granted for GERD.
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