The Veteran's cause of death, brain cancer, was not service-connected. The Board found no evidence linking the brain cancer to his military service or exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence linking the Veteran’s brain cancer to his active military service including exposure to herbicide agents.
- Claimed conditions
- Brain cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- July 2, 2019
- Citation
- 19151362
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,156 · Granted: 29% (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 19151362.
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: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for brain cancer, low back disability, and cervical spine disability due to a pre-decisional error in failing to obtain a radiation dose estimate from the Under Secretary for Health. The Veteran's military service aboard USS ENTERPRISE is considered relevant to his exposure to ionizing radiation.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's brain cancer is granted as service-connected due to in-service herbicide exposure, specifically Agent Orange.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's service connection for brain cancer as of August 14, 2018 is granted due to a link between his in-service toxic exposure and his diagnosed condition. Service connection for bilateral hearing loss is denied.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death to obtain a new VA opinion considering the appellant's submitted favorable medical and scientific literature.
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