The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for stomach cancer, finding that there was no evidence linking his death from gastric cancer to his military service or exposure to herbicide agents. The cause of death is attributed to a condition not related to service.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence showing that the Veteran’s gastric cancer was caused by his military service or exposure to herbicide agents, and the Appellant's lay opinion on this issue lacks probative value.
- Claimed conditions
- stomach cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19127916
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.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for diabetes, glaucoma, left foot and toe tingling and numbness sensation, left hand and fingers tingling and numbness sensation, right foot and toe tingling and numbness sensation, right hand and fingers tingling and numbness sensation, and stomach cancer as moot.
- Partly granted
Service connection for prostate cancer on an accrued basis was granted based on the benefit-of-the-doubt doctrine, finding competent and credible evidence at least approximately balanced between service-connected prostatitis and prostate cancer. Service connection was denied for stomach cancer, colon cancer, skin cancer, the Veteran's cause of death, and dependency indemnity compensation benefits.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for gastrointestinal cancer other than esophageal cancer and stomach cancer, brain cancer, and prostate cancer. The issues of entitlement to service connection for esophageal cancer, metastatic esophageal cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and liver cancer were remanded.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter of entitlement to service connection for stomach cancer due to pre-decisional duty to assist errors, including the need to obtain VistA images and an adequate medical opinion.
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