The Board finds that the Veteran's mouth cancer was related to his exposure to radiation during service, and grants service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: Both a private oncologist and the Director of the Post 9-11 Era Environmental Health Program provided opinions supporting a link between the Veteran's inservice radiation exposure and his mouth cancer. The Board resolved all reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran, finding that his mouth cancer was related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- cancer of the mouth
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 5, 2016
- Citation
- 1645418
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 1645418.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 claim for service connection for cancer of the mouth, throat, or respiratory tract is remanded due to new evidence submitted after a previous denial. The Board finds that the evidence does not meet the standard for 'new and relevant' evidence as it pertains to esophageal cancer but considers squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx related to Agent Orange exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is needed to determine the Veteran's exposure to ionizing radiation during service and whether he meets the criteria for direct service connection due to his claimed condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for his cause of death, finding that there was no evidence linking his emphysema and cancer of the mouth to his military service or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's causes of death are directly related to service, including herbicide exposure.
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