The Board found no service connection for the cause of death and denied eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits due to lack of a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: Service connection was not established for the cause of death, as there is no evidence linking the metastatic colon carcinoma to service or any presumptive exposure. The appellant did not provide sufficient evidence to establish eligibility for DEA benefits given the absence of a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic colon carcinoma, rectal fissures
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 18, 2006
- Citation
- 0621002
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,599 · Granted: 37% (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 0621002.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for hand rash, vision loss based on refractive error, and lumbar spine disability, among other conditions. A separate 10 percent rating was granted for right knee limitation of extension.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of the 60 percent rating for rectal fissures and scarring is granted, with the earliest effective date being December 17, 2014.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for a new VA medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's colorectal cancer, including whether it was caused by in-service exposure to herbicide agents and/or a reported exposure to strange dust following a hemorrhoid procedure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the case to determine if the Veteran's cause of death (colon cancer) was related to service or a service-connected disability, including presumed exposure to herbicide agents and reported exposure to strange dust following hemorrhoid procedure.
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