The Board has determined that the cause of the Veteran's death was metastatic esophageal carcinoma, which is not service-connected due to lack of evidence linking it to his presumed exposure to Agent Orange. The Board also found no evidence of primary lung cancer and concluded that the esophageal cancer did not result from Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: The VA physician's opinion was unequivocal in stating that the cause of death, metastatic esophageal carcinoma, is unrelated to Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic esophageal carcinoma, primary lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 16, 2014
- Citation
- 1427226
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 1427226.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to metastatic esophageal carcinoma, which is presumed to be caused by herbicide exposure during service in Vietnam.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was not related to herbicide agent exposure, but service connection for the cause of death is granted due to a current disability (metastatic esophageal carcinoma) and a causal relationship established on a direct basis.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for cause of death due to metastatic esophageal carcinoma, which the Veteran was presumed exposed to herbicide agents during his service in Vietnam. The Board found that exposure to herbicide agents likely caused or substantially contributed to the cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is remanded due to conflicting opinions on the relationship between his metastatic kidney cancer and service, including Agent Orange exposure. The issue of whether a primary lung cancer at the time of death was a significant contributing factor to his death remains unresolved.
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