The veteran's cause of death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and he did not have permanent total disability due to a service-connected condition. Therefore, the appellant is not eligible for Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance.
The deciding factor: The veteran died from malignant melanoma which developed many years after service and was not linked to his military service or any service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- malignant melanoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- February 21, 2006
- Citation
- 0604901
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,645 · Granted: 19% (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 0604901.
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: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for malignant melanoma, finding that there was no evidence linking the condition to his active duty service.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for her scars has been withdrawn, resulting in the dismissal of this claim.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the VA did not obtain all necessary service treatment records and failed to provide a VA medical opinion addressing the cause of death. The claim is being remanded for these actions.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for malignant melanoma and lung cancer due to a failure to fully develop the record regarding toxic risk exposure activities. The Veteran's service records indicate he was exposed to herbicides during his military service, but further development is needed to include non-herbicide exposures.
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