The Board has determined that the Veteran's diabetes mellitus, which was linked to his in-service herbicide exposure, contributed substantially or materially to his death from pancreatic cancer. Therefore, service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
The deciding factor: Competent medical evidence established a link between the Veteran's diabetes mellitus and his fatal pancreatic cancer, with conflicting opinions regarding whether the diabetes was the principal or contributory cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes mellitus, pancreatic cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 3, 2010
- Citation
- 1020431
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 1020431.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 pancreatic cancer as there was no evidence of a nexus between the in-service toxic exposure and the current condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for diabetes mellitus and bilateral knee strain to obtain additional medical opinions.
- Partly granted
The Board denied increased ratings for hypertension, atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus; granted service connection for erectile dysfunction and skin cancer; and restored the 10 percent rating for hypertension.
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