The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and there is no evidence of herbicide exposure or other presumptive conditions contributing to his death. The Board finds that the preponderance of the evidence does not support a grant of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions indicate that neither diabetes mellitus nor coronary artery disease contributed substantially or materially to the Veteran's death, and there is no evidence linking liver cancer or pancreatic cancer to his service or any other presumptive condition.
- Claimed conditions
- Liver Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2014
- Citation
- 1401352
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 1401352.
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 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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death, liver cancer, is being remanded due to a pending service connection claim for hepatitis C. The Board finds the cause of death appeal is intertwined with resolution of the pending service connection claim.
- 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.
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