The Board has reopened the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to new evidence, but it is not established that exposure to Agent Orange caused or contributed to his cancer.
The deciding factor: Medical evidence supports a diagnosis of metastatic oropharyngeal cancer and suggests similar exposure to herbicides in Vietnam could have contributed to development of the cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic head and neck cancer, respiratory failure
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 21, 2007
- Citation
- 0740346
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 0740346.
What this means for you
A partial grant means some issues were granted while others were denied or remanded — common in multi-issue claims. Look at which issues went which way, and how each was argued.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's causes of death were not found to be service-connected, as there was no credible evidence linking the conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, including hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II, are presumed to be related to his service in the Republic of Vietnam. The Board has granted service connection for these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was respiratory failure caused by hepatic failure, hepatocellular cancer, and chronic hepatitis C infection.,Service connection for the cause of death is granted as his alcohol and substance abuse were secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the severance of service connected death benefits was improper and grants the appeal.
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