The Board has determined that the veteran's cause of death was due to cholangiocarcinoma, which is not service-connected. The appellant is also denied eligibility for dependant's educational assistance under Chapter 35, Title 38, United States Code.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking the veteran's cause of death (cholangiocarcinoma) to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- Cholangiocarcinoma, Congestive Heart Failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 17, 2006
- Citation
- 0604732
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for congestive heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and pulmonary fibrosis as these conditions were not related to the Veteran's service, including his exposure to Agent Orange.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus, but denied service connection for hypertension, congestive heart failure, sleep apnea, and erectile dysfunction.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for COPD, obstructive sleep apnea, atrial fibrillation, and hypertension as not being related to the Veteran's active duty or secondary to his service-connected GAD. However, congestive heart failure was granted due to a secondary relationship with his service-connected GAD.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain a medical opinion addressing whether the Veteran's service-connected PTSD caused or aggravated his cardiovascular diseases, which were listed as contributing causes of death.
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