The Board denied an earlier effective date for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that the evidence did not meet the requirements of 38 U.S.C.A. § 5110 and 38 C.F.R. § 4.00.
The deciding factor: VA regulations do not allow an earlier effective date for service connection based on a liberalizing change in the regulations, as the claim was received after the effective date of the change.
- Claimed conditions
- colon cancer, arteriosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Ionizing radiation
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 24, 2006
- Citation
- 0608618
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 684 · Granted: 25% (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 0608618.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and its relation to service. The Veteran's atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and colon cancer are being evaluated for their relationship to toxic exposure during service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected arteriosclerotic heart disease is rated at 60% and has rendered him unemployable from February 17, 2023 to July 24, 2023. The Board also granted a special monthly compensation based on the housebound criteria.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities do not meet the criteria for an allowance for an automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment, as he does not have physical loss of use of hands or feet, permanent impairment of vision in both eyes, severe burn injury, ALS, or ankylosis of knees or hips.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for colon cancer and liver cancer is granted due to the relationship between his in-service toxic exposures, including burn pits. His liver cancer was found to be related to his now service-connected colon cancer.
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