The Veteran's cause of death, cholangiocarcinoma due to adenocarcinoma of the bile duct, was not found to be related to service. The Board denied service connection for the cause of death as there was no evidence linking the cancer to service.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence did not support a finding that the Veteran's cholangiocarcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the bile duct were directly related to his service, including exposure to liver flukes in Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- Cholangiocarcinoma, Adenocarcinoma of the bile duct
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19161676
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 19161676.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that the evidence did not support a causal link between the Veteran's cholangiocarcinoma and his military service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his cholangiocarcinoma was at least as likely as not related to his service-connected diabetes mellitus and/or in-service herbicide agent exposure.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his cholangiocarcinoma was related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents and/or parasitic infection.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the cases for further development and an opinion from a specialist regarding the cause of death. The Veteran's cause of death is listed as cholangiocarcinoma, but no records have been obtained to determine its onset or etiology.
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