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
- Not verified here — check the original 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 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 0815824.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board allowed the benefit or issue identified in this decision. Review the original order: other issues in the same appeal may have a different outcome, and this decision does not predict another claim.
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 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.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: 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.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
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