The Veteran's cause of death was due to a gastrointestinal bleed caused by pancreatic and biliary cancer, which the VA medical expert opined may have been aggravated by liver fluke exposure in Vietnam.
The deciding factor: The gastroenterologist provided an opinion that there is a significant possibility that the patient's cholangiocarcinoma was due to exposure to a liver fluke while he was in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastrointestinal Bleed, Pancreatic Cancer, Biliary Cancer
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 17, 2012
- Citation
- 1206119
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 1206119.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded for further development regarding his claims of service connection for PTSD, a rating increase for PTSD, and service connection for pancreatic cancer secondary to diabetes.
- Denied
The Board denied an earlier effective date for DIC benefits due to the Veteran's cause of death, finding that there was no prior pending claim and that the current grant of service connection for the cause of death is based on direct service connection rather than a presumption.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of the claim for entitlement to a TDIU and denied service connection for heart, diabetes mellitus type II, and pancreatic cancer disabilities.
- Partly granted
The appeal for an initial compensable evaluation for service-connected hypertension was granted, while the appeals for service connection for pancreatic cancer and special monthly compensation were remanded.
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