The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic esophageal cancer, was found to be proximately caused by his service-connected anxiety disorder. As a result, the Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death.
The deciding factor: Anxiety disorder contributed to the Veteran's excessive smoking and eventual death from esophageal cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- anxiety disorder, duodenal ulcer, cerebral concussion with headaches, metastatic esophageal cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 70%
- Decision date
- May 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19137423
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,757 · Granted: 23% (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 19137423.
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's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's tinnitus was granted service connection. The Board found the VA audiological examination inadequate for adjudicative purposes and remanded for an adequate VA audiological examination to determine if the Veteran has bilateral hearing loss. Service connection for PTSD, anxiety disorder, and depression is also remanded as there are insufficient competent medical evidence on file.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric condition, specifically anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, which is found to be due to military sexual trauma experienced during service. The decision also notes that the Veteran's reports of in-service personal assault are credible and supported by medical opinions.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for tinnitus, anxiety disorder, back disability, left shoulder disability, right shoulder disability, and right knee disability. The claim for service connection for residuals of a concussion is remanded.
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