The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death based on exposure to ionizing radiation in service, finding that there was no evidence of such exposure and thus no basis for presumptive service connection. The claim was reviewed under direct service connection criteria but still denied.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of radiation exposure during service, which precludes the use of regulatory presumptions for service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Brain cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 24, 2008
- Citation
- 0832863
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 0832863.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for brain cancer, low back disability, and cervical spine disability due to a pre-decisional error in failing to obtain a radiation dose estimate from the Under Secretary for Health. The Veteran's military service aboard USS ENTERPRISE is considered relevant to his exposure to ionizing radiation.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's brain cancer is granted as service-connected due to in-service herbicide exposure, specifically Agent Orange.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service connection for brain cancer as of August 14, 2018 is granted due to a link between his in-service toxic exposure and his diagnosed condition. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death to obtain a new VA opinion considering the appellant's submitted favorable medical and scientific literature.
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