The veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the surviving spouse is not entitled to DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318.
The deciding factor: The cause of death (hepatic/respiratory failure due to metastatic colon cancer) was not related to any service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Anxiety reaction, Metastatic colon cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 17, 2006
- Citation
- 0625322
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,710 · Granted: 15% (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 0625322.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and DIC benefits because the Regional Office failed to obtain a VA medical opinion to determine whether the veteran's service-connected disabilities caused, contributed to, or aggravated his death from metastatic colon cancer. The Board found a reasonable possibility that a medical opinion would aid in substantiating the claim, particularly regarding whether alcohol use disorder was a risk factor for the colon cancer.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claim for metastatic colon cancer as the Veteran's cause of death to obtain an addendum opinion addressing the etiology of the condition, considering all applicable military deployments and toxic exposure risk activities.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service-connected anxiety reaction with insomnia symptoms has rendered him unemployable, and the Board finds that he meets the criteria for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU).
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted an earlier effective date of June 8, 1987 for the grant of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits due to a suicide caused by service-connected mental health issues.
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