The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death and also denied his request for educational benefits under Chapter 35, Title 38, United States Code.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish that the veteran's esophageal cancer was related to his service or any other condition. The appellant could not be considered an 'eligible person' entitled to receive educational benefits as she did not meet the basic criteria under the law for eligibility.
- Claimed conditions
- carcinoma of the esophagus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 2, 2006
- Citation
- 0616032
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,084 · Granted: 20% (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 0616032.
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 Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability. The Board found no evidence of the Veteran's carcinoma of the esophagus during his military service or within one year after discharge, and thus denied DIC benefits based on service connection for cause of death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to an inadequate VA examination, and a new medical opinion is needed regarding the Veteran's cause of death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to issues with obtaining an independent medical opinion and further review of the claims file.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the esophageal cancer was not related to his active service.
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