The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected condition, and the appellant has not provided sufficient evidence to establish that any of his service-connected conditions contributed substantially or materially to his death.
The deciding factor: The cause of death listed on the Medical Certificate of Death was adenocarcinoma of the colon. The Veteran's service-connected conditions did not singly or with some other condition constitute the immediate or underlying cause of death, nor were they etiologically related.
- Claimed conditions
- aortic valvitis, headaches and dizziness, residuals of post-traumatic encephalopathy, secondary to shell fragment wound, skull defect residuals, shell fragment wound, varicose veins of the right leg, post-operative right inguinal hernia, healed fracture of the left carpal navicular bone, bursitis of the right shoulder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 25, 2009
- Citation
- 0931814
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 0931814.
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 expanded the scope of the claim for major depression to encompass any mental health disability raised by the record and has remanded six issues for additional development.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's varicose veins of the right leg were related to his military service, and the Board granted service connection for this condition.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for obstructive sleep apnea is granted. The claims for varicose veins of the right leg and left leg are remanded due to insufficient evidence.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a left upper extremity nerve condition and remanded the claims for varicose veins of both legs due to an inadequate medical opinion.
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