The Veteran's death was caused by esophageal cancer, which is due to or as a consequence of coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The Board found that the Veteran had these conditions due to his presumed exposure to herbicides during service in Okinawa.
The deciding factor: The Board found it at least as likely as not that the Veteran served in the Republic of Vietnam, was exposed to herbicides, and developed coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus which are associated with such exposure. These conditions contributed to his death from esophageal cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal cancer, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19156064
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 19156064.
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 the Veteran's claim for an initial evaluation in excess of 10 percent for his service-connected coronary artery disease, finding that the evidence did not support a higher rating based on the severity of his condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an increased rating for coronary artery disease is being remanded due to the inadequacy of a previous VA examination.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for coronary artery disease, hypertension, and stroke as there was no evidence of herbicide agent exposure during service and the medical opinions were against a nexus to service.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection claim for coronary artery disease with myocardial infarction is granted on a presumptive basis due to exposure to herbicide agents during his active duty in Korea.
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