The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, nor is there evidence that any condition related to service contributed to his death. The Board found no medical opinion linking the cause of death (metastatic carcinoma of the brain and primary carcinoma of the esophagus) to service or service-connected conditions.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner's opinions did not find a link between the Veteran’s cause of death conditions and his service, including any potential herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic carcinoma of the brain, primary carcinoma of the esophagus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- August 1, 2019
- Citation
- 19159681
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,828 · Granted: 32% (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 19159681.
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: Granted
The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that hypertension was more likely than not caused by herbicide agent exposure during active service. The decision is based on a new VA opinion supporting this conclusion.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The claim for service connection for cause of death is reopened due to the submission of new and material evidence. The case is remanded for a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's esophageal cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hypertension.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that no service-connected disability caused or contributed to his death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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