The Veteran's death was not service-connected, and his service-connected conditions did not contribute to his cause of death. The claim for dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is also denied.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner concluded that the service-connected disabilities did not cause or contribute to the Veteran's death, based on a thorough review of all evidence.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic cancer, chondrosarcoma
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19115814
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 19115814.
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 matter for an adequate medical opinion to address whether the Veteran's principal causes of death were related to his service, specifically focusing on sun exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to insufficient diagnostic studies and a need for an opinion from an oncologist regarding the etiology of the claimed chondrosarcoma.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death was metastatic cancer, but the Board has remanded to determine if it is at least as likely as not related to service or VA care. The claim for benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 also remains pending.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is being remanded for a VA medical opinion to determine if his bladder cancer, which may be related to Agent Orange exposure during service, contributed to his death.
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