The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as there was no evidence establishing a nexus between the veteran's bladder cancer and his military service.
The deciding factor: The lack of competent medical evidence linking the veteran's bladder cancer to his military service or exposure to chemical dioxins in Vietnam led to the denial of the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 2, 2009
- Citation
- 0900080
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,514 · Granted: 19% (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 0900080.
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 residuals of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder are rated at a 10 percent disability rating, effective from the date of the decision.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, which is associated with exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. Service connection for the cause of his death is granted.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has reopened the Veteran's claim for service connection for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder and granted it, finding that the evidence supports a relationship to exposure to Agent Orange during service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that there is equipoise evidence regarding whether the Veteran's transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder was caused by radiation therapy used to treat his service-connected prostate cancer, and therefore grants the claim for service connection.
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.