The Board found that the evidence did not support a connection between the Veteran's death and his period of active service, including any in-service throat condition or rheumatic heart disease.
The deciding factor: There was no competent medical evidence linking the Veteran's cancer of the larynx to an in-service event or incident. The first diagnosis of both conditions occurred many years after separation from service, and lay statements did not provide a sufficient nexus.
- Claimed conditions
- cancer of the larynx, rheumatic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 27, 2009
- Citation
- 0907340
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,035 · Granted: 30% (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 0907340.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for multiple conditions, including alopecia areata, hidradenitis suppurativa, arthritis, cancer of the larynx, pulmonary embolism, peripheral neuropathy in both upper and lower extremities, renal cell cancer, and sleep apnea, as there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's active service.
- Granted
The Board restored the 100 percent rating for cancer of the larynx and granted special monthly compensation based on statutory housebound status.
- Partly granted
The veteran's claim for service connection for rheumatic heart disease was granted. The claim for hypertensive vascular disease was remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for glaucoma, Parkinson's disease, and dementia due to potential TERA exposure. The rating for bilateral hearing loss is also being remanded.
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