The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance due to a lack of competent medical evidence linking the veteran's hypertension medication or his GERD to his fatal cancer.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence supporting an etiological relationship between the veteran's hypertension medication, GERD, or his fatal cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic gastric carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2008
- Citation
- 0802012
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 0802012.
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 cause of death from metastatic gastric carcinoma was not service-connected, and there is no evidence to support presumptive service connection due to Camp Lejeune exposure.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by metastatic gastric carcinoma, which is presumed to have been incurred in or related to his military service. The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death based on the PACT Act presumption.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to metastatic gastric carcinoma, which is presumed to have been incurred in or related to his military service under the PACT Act.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic gastric carcinoma, was presumptively related to his service in Southwest Asia and the PACT Act exposure presumption.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.