The Board found that the Veteran's fatal gastroesophageal junction cancer was likely caused by his exposure to ionizing radiation in service, and thus granted service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least evenly balanced as to whether the Veteran’s fatal esophageal cancer was caused by his exposure to ionizing radiation in service.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastroesophageal junction cancer, Status epilepticus
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Ionizing radiation
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 31, 2019
- Citation
- 19107155
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,604 · Granted: 65% (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 19107155.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran died of respiratory failure with underlying causes of brain stem anoxia and status epilepticus, etiology unknown. The service-connected conditions did not contribute to the cause of death.
- Denied
The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by VA's carelessness or negligence, and thus denied his claim for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1151.
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