The Board found that the cause of death was not related to service, and denied claims for service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus and rheumatic heart disease.
The deciding factor: Service records did not show any pre-existing conditions or injuries noted at the time of entrance examination. The veteran's cancer and heart disease were not shown to have been aggravated by his service.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, rheumatic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 5, 2006
- Citation
- 0613183
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 0613183.
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 squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus and polyneuropathy in all extremities, finding no evidence linking these conditions to the Veteran's military service or a service-connected condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a new VA opinion to address whether the Veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus is related to his service, including exposure to warehouse chemicals and herbicide agents.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus, finding that the evidence did not support a causal relationship between the Veteran's condition and his military service or exposure to contaminants at Camp Lejeune.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for service connection for rheumatic heart disease was granted. The claim for hypertensive vascular disease was remanded.
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