The Board found no causal connection between the Veteran's military service and his death, specifically denying entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, including as a result of herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The July 2016 VA examiner opined that it is less likely than not that the Veteran's respiratory failure due to pneumonia (the cause of death on the death certificate) was incurred in or due to his active military service. The examiner also stated that it is least as likely as not that the nasopharyngeal carcinoma, which caused the pneumonia and respiratory failure, was a contributory cause of his death.
- Claimed conditions
- nasopharyngeal carcinoma, respiratory failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 28, 2017
- Citation
- 1724512
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 1724512.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's causes of death were not found to be service-connected, as there was no credible evidence linking the conditions to his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death due to recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma, finding that it is at least as likely as not related to exposure to herbicides in service, including Agent Orange.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, including hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II, are presumed to be related to his service in the Republic of Vietnam. The Board has granted service connection for these conditions.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was respiratory failure caused by hepatic failure, hepatocellular cancer, and chronic hepatitis C infection.,Service connection for the cause of death is granted as his alcohol and substance abuse were secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
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