The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death as cholangiocarcinoma was not shown to be related to service, including exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: Cholangiocarcinoma was not manifest during service nor within one year of separation; competent medical evidence does not show that the post-service diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma was attributable to service including exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- Cholangiocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2009
- Citation
- 0900759
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the evidence did not support a causal link between the Veteran's cholangiocarcinoma and his military service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his cholangiocarcinoma was at least as likely as not related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus and/or in-service herbicide agent exposure.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his cholangiocarcinoma was related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents and/or parasitic infection.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's cholangiocarcinoma, which was the cause of his death, was not related to his military service or exposure to ionizing radiation.
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