The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death due to colon cancer, as there was no evidence linking the condition to active duty service.
The deciding factor: There is no medical evidence showing that the Veteran's colon cancer or its causes were related to his military service.
- Claimed conditions
- sepsis, bowel perforation, colon cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 10, 2018
- Citation
- 18141261
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 18141261.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the cause of death and its relation to service. The Veteran's atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and colon cancer are being evaluated for their relationship to toxic exposure during service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for colon cancer and liver cancer is granted due to the relationship between his in-service toxic exposures, including burn pits. His liver cancer was found to be related to his now service-connected colon cancer.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, kidney cancer, is not service-connected. The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death was not related to his military service or a service-connected disability.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic lung cancer, was found to be related to service and caused or contributed substantially to the Veteran's death. The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.
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