The Board found that the veteran's metastatic disease to brain, bone and lung did not have onset during active service, did not manifest within one year of separation from active service, and are not otherwise related to the veteran's active service. The Board also determined that a disability incurred in or aggravated by service did not cause or contribute substantially or materially to cause the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The evidence rebuts the presumption for service connection based on herbicide exposure due to the metastatic nature of the disease, and there is no other evidence linking the conditions to active service.
- Claimed conditions
- Renal cell carcinoma, Metastatic disease to brain, bone and lung
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 21, 2008
- Citation
- 0816761
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (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 0816761.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death. The case is remanded for a VA medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's fatal renal cancer, including whether it was caused by exposure to Agent Orange or secondary to his service-connected prostate cancer.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of death due to metastatic renal cell carcinoma, finding no evidence linking it to in-service toxic exposures.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, related to his conceded exposure to herbicide agents during active service.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for renal cell carcinoma was denied as there were no prior informal or formal applications to reopen his previously denied kidney cancer claim before June 14, 2021. The earliest possible effective date is the date the reopened claim was received.
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