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 assigned
- None in this 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 vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 19159681.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.