The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to a lack of evidence linking his esophageal cancer to his military service or any incident therein, including herbicide exposure. The primary source of the cancer was found to be in the esophagus and not related to respiratory system issues.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there is no direct evidence showing a connection between the Veteran's esophageal cancer and his military service, including herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 4, 2010
- Citation
- 1000256
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 1000256.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death to correct predecisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining additional records and a medical nexus opinion.
- Granted
The Veteran's esophageal cancer is granted service connection due to herbicide exposure during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for gastrointestinal cancer other than esophageal cancer and stomach cancer, brain cancer, and prostate cancer. The issues of entitlement to service connection for esophageal cancer, metastatic esophageal cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and liver cancer were remanded.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for a left shoulder disability and remanded the claims for service connection for a neck strain, esophageal cancer, and headaches.
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