The Veteran's claims for service connection for oropharyngeal cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, both linked to exposure to herbicides, have been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died before a decision could be made on his claims.
- Claimed conditions
- oropharyngeal cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 22, 2016
- Citation
- 1606532
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 1606532.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that his conditions were not related to his military service and did not warrant a grant based on exposure to herbicides.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for oropharyngeal cancer, finding that it is not related to his in-service exposure and instead caused by his long-term tobacco use.
- Granted
The Veteran's oropharyngeal cancer with soft palate reconstruction is granted service connection, and the claim for a dental disability secondary to this condition is remanded.
- Granted
The Veteran's diabetes mellitus type II and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are granted service connection as they were presumed to be related to herbicide agent exposure during his military service in Thailand.
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