The veteran's death was caused by metastatic cancer, which is presumed to be related to his service in Vietnam due to exposure to Agent Orange.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is warranted as the lung cancer leading to his death is presumed etiologically related to service under 38 C.F.R. § 3.307(a)(6)(ii) and 3.309(e).
- Claimed conditions
- Metastatic cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2008
- Citation
- 0815824
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 23% (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 0815824.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the cause of death (acute hypoxemic respiratory failure, malignant pleural effusion, and metastatic cancer) is not related to service or exposure to sunlight in service. The case is being remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's death is not shown to be proximately caused by VA carelessness, negligence, lack of proper skill, error in judgment or similar instance of fault. The Board finds the appellant's contentions with respect to the Veteran’s death are not competent.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and he did not meet the criteria for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Granted
The Board of Veterans' Appeals has granted service connection for PTSD and Mood Disorders, both presumed conditions under the PACT Act.
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