The Veteran's cause of death was not due to a service-connected disability or exposure to Agent Orange. The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking the Veteran’s cause of death (disseminated intravascular coagulopathy and esophageal cancer) to his military service, including any service-connected disabilities or exposure to herbicides like Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, esophageal cancer, atherosclerotic heart disease
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2018
- Citation
- 18142299
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 18142299.
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 remands the claim for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death to correct predecisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining additional records and a medical nexus opinion.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including a bilateral eye disability and cardiovascular conditions, based on the Veteran's in-service occupational exposures.
- Granted
The Veteran's esophageal cancer is granted service connection due to herbicide exposure during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for gastrointestinal cancer other than esophageal cancer and stomach cancer, brain cancer, and prostate cancer. The issues of entitlement to service connection for esophageal cancer, metastatic esophageal cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and liver cancer were remanded.
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