The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death, a pulmonary embolism and esophageal adenocarcinoma, was not attributable to his service or any incident thereof, including exposures to ionizing radiation. The Board also determined that no disability for which he was service-connected at the time of his death was a principal or contributing cause of his death, nor could it be presumed due to exposure to herbicides or ionizing radiation.
The deciding factor: The causes of the Veteran's death were not etiologically related to his active service, including exposures to ionizing radiation and to herbicides, and are not due to a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Pulmonary Embolism, Esophageal Adenocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Ionizing radiation
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2014
- Citation
- 1404009
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 1404009.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for Persistent Depressive Disorder is denied. The Board has also remanded the issue of service connection for Pulmonary Embolism due to predecisional duty to assist errors.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of pulmonary embolism, finding that it is secondary to her service-connected PCOS.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's pulmonary embolism is secondary to his service-connected heart disability and grants service connection for this condition.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board dismissed the Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for pulmonary embolism, but the Veteran has since expressed that she did not intend to withdraw her claim. The case is now remanded for further review.
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