The Board has granted the appellant's petition to reopen her claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, finding that there is a reasonable possibility that his glioblastoma multiforme was caused by exposure to herbicide agents during active duty. The Board also found that the presumptive provisions of 38 U.S.C. § 1116 do not apply to her claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, but a medical nexus between glioblastoma multiforme and Agent Orange exposure was established.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there is a reasonable possibility that the Veteran's glioblastoma multiforme was caused by his exposure to herbicide agents during active duty, based on the private examiner's opinion linking the presence of TCDD in his body to his diagnosis and age at death.
- Claimed conditions
- glioblastoma multiforme
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19120459
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,797 · Granted: 20% (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 19120459.
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.
- Granted
The Board has granted an effective date of [REDACTED], 2009, for the award of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to exposure to herbicide agents during service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to glioblastoma multiforme, which is related to his military service. The Board found that the Veteran's glioblastoma was caused by his in-service exposure to herbicide agents while serving in Vietnam.
- Denied
The Veteran's glioblastoma, which caused his death, is not service-connected due to lack of evidence linking it to his in-service herbicide exposure or any other aspect of his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is listed as glioblastoma multiforme. The Board has remanded the issues related to service connection for various conditions due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error and other procedural matters.
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