The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to breast cancer, finding that her PTSD did not play a material causal role in her death. The Board concluded there was no evidence showing service-connected PTSD caused or contributed to her death.
The deciding factor: There is no competent evidence indicating that the Veteran's service-connected PTSD caused or contributed to her death, or caused an increase in the severity of her cardiorespiratory failure or breast cancer that did cause her death.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic breast cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- January 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19101832
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,287 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19101832.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The appeal has been dismissed due to the Veteran's death. No service connection decisions have been made for any of the listed conditions.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic breast cancer, is not related to his service or exposure to herbicide agents. The Board denied the claim for service connection.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, metastatic breast cancer, finding that there was no evidence linking the condition to in-service herbicide exposure. The Board also found that the evidence did not support a link between the Veteran's exposure to carcinogens/dioxins and his manifestation of breast cancer many years after service.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was listed as metastatic breast cancer. The Board found that the evidence does not support a finding that this condition is related to service, including exposure to herbicide agents like Agent Orange.
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