The Veteran's death was caused by renal cancer and its metastases, but the evidence does not support a connection to service-connected conditions or presumed exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: There is no direct evidence linking the Veteran’s renal cancer to his military service or any presumptive conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Renal Cancer, Multi-organ failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19133954
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,886 · Granted: 24% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19133954.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that none of the listed causes were related to his military service and no service-connected disability contributed to his death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's renal cancer is at least as likely as not related to his in-service herbicide agent exposure, specifically Agent Orange. As a result, service connection for renal cancer is granted.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death, finding that there was no evidence linking the Veteran's cause of death to his active duty service or any service-connected disability.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that additional development is necessary to determine if the Veteran's cause of death, including cardiac arrest and acute respiratory failure, are related to his active duty service, specifically his exposure to asbestos. The appeal is REMANDED for further review.
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