The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his brain cancer to military service or any service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not show a causal link between the Veteran’s brain cancer and his active military service or any service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic cancer of the brain, unknown primary underlying cause
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19104430
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 3,319 · Granted: 25% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19104430.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of metastatic cancer of the brain, finding that there was no formal or informal claim prior to July 26, 2019. The effective date assigned is the date of receipt of the Veteran's intent to file a claim.
- Denied
The Veteran's application for HISA benefits was approved, but the authorization was cancelled due to his death. The appellant is not eligible for accrued benefits as a surviving spouse.
- Denied
The Board found that the Veteran's cause of death, cardiorespiratory arrest, was not caused by or substantially contributed to by his service-connected prostate and/or bladder cancer. The Board determined that there is no credible evidence linking the Veteran's cancers to Agent Orange exposure.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected condition, and thus denied his claim for service connection for the cause of his death.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.