The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and entitlement to Dependents' Educational Assistance, finding no evidence supporting a link between the veteran's cancer and his military service.
The deciding factor: The veteran's squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck was not related to his service due to lack of exposure data and absence of relevant presumptive conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 12, 2008
- Citation
- 0815563
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,500 · Granted: 17% (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 0815563.
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: Granted
The Veteran's traumatic injury to the left testicle and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck are service-connected, with the latter being related to herbicide exposure. The Board finds that the Veteran has a current disability as a result of these conditions.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's current heart conditions, including coronary artery disease and hypertension, are directly related to his military service. Additionally, the squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is found to be aggravated by his service-connected heart condition.
- Whole decision: Denied
The veteran's claim for Service Disabled Veterans' Insurance under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1922 was denied because he did not file his application within the required one-year period following his service connection for PTSD, and there is no evidence of incompetence during that time.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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.