The Veteran's death was not due to any service-connected disability, and the Board denied claims for service connection for adenocarcinoma of the duodenum, metastatic liver failure, and heart valve disease.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner determined that none of the conditions causing the Veteran’s death were related to exposure to herbicide agents or his service-connected left eye disorder.
- Claimed conditions
- adenocarcinoma of the duodenum, metastatic liver failure, heart valve disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- June 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19143223
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,011 · 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 19143223.
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 Veteran's adenocarcinoma of the duodenum was denied service connection as there is no evidence linking it to his military service, including herbicide exposure.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Veteran was granted a temporary rating of 100 percent for his heart disability from March 1, 2021 to June 1, 2021, but the claim for an increased rating in excess of 60 percent prior to and after this period was denied.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's adenocarcinoma of the duodenum was denied service connection as there is no evidence it manifested during or within one year after his military service, and there is no indication it is related to herbicide exposure. The Board found that the medical evidence did not support a link between the condition and service.
- Whole decision: Partly granted
The Veteran's petition to reopen his claim for service connection of visual impairment was granted. Service connection for glaucoma is also granted. The issue of service connection for adenocarcinoma of the duodenum is remanded.
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