The Board has granted service connection for gastric adenocarcinoma, claimed as secondary to Agent Orange exposure, and also found that the Veteran's death was due to a service-connected disability. The claim of entitlement to Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is dismissed as moot.
The deciding factor: The Board resolved all reasonable doubt in favor of the appellant, finding that exposure to Agent Orange during service increased the Veteran's risk of developing gastric cancer, which was found to be at least as likely as not caused by such exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- gastric adenocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 17, 2019
- Citation
- 19147063
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 Board denied service connection for gastric adenocarcinoma, finding that the evidence does not support a link between the Veteran's condition and his military service, including herbicide exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the Veteran's gastric cancer is not related to his asbestos exposure in service. The claims of bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus are remanded for further development.
- Denied
The Veteran's gastric adenocarcinoma, which caused his death, is not service-connected due to lack of evidence linking it to service or Agent Orange exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
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