The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking the Veteran's death to his military service or any service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion found no internal or external exposure data on the Veteran and concluded that the Veteran's malignant melanoma did not have a nexus to his active duty service, including presumed herbicide exposure in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- pneumonia, malignant melanoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 1, 2012
- Citation
- 1234186
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1234186.
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: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and asthma as causes of death. The evidence did not support finding that these conditions were related to his service-connected disabilities.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for malignant melanoma, finding that there was no evidence linking the condition to his active duty service.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and pneumonia due to insufficient evidence in the record. The Veteran's current diagnoses are not supported by the medical records provided.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for an increased rating for her scars has been withdrawn, resulting in the dismissal of this claim.
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