The Board has decided that a VA opinion is needed to determine if the Veteran's cause of death may be caused by service, including his exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: Service connection for the cause of death can be established on a direct basis even though not included in presumptive diseases list due to Combee v. Brown and Stefl v. Nicholson.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic colon cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19159250
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 19159250.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
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 claims for eligibility for specially adapted housing, a special home adaptation grant, and financial assistance in purchasing an automobile or other conveyance and adaptive equipment. The claim of CUE in the September 14, 2017, rating decision was also denied.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's metastatic colon cancer was related to his exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune during active service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, which was metastatic colon cancer, finding that it was related to his in-service asbestos exposure.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that metastatic colon cancer was related to his conceded in-service herbicide exposure under the PACT Act. However, DIC benefits were denied as the Veteran did not meet the criteria for 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
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