The Board determined that the Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service or any of his service-connected disabilities, and therefore denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not show a direct link between the Veteran's military service and his terminal esophageal cancer, nor did it establish that any of his service-connected conditions contributed substantially to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- early focal bronchopneumonia, cachexia, resected adenocarcinoma of esophagus with bowel obstruction and fistula
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 26, 2014
- Citation
- 1412880
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 1412880.
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 service connection for the cause of death due to lack of evidence linking the Veteran's carcinoma of the pharynx to his service or a service-connected disability, and there was no indication that the cancer was related to herbicide exposure.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has found pre-decisional duty to assist errors and remanded the claims of entitlement to service connection for cause of death, DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318, and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to insufficient information in the record.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the Board denied both his claim for service connection for the cause of his death and his DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether any conditions noted or found to have caused his death, or substantially or materially contributed to his cause of death, are related to service.
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