The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be at least as likely as not due to his active military service, specifically his in-service exposure to herbicides which caused his clear cell kidney cancer.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence established that the Veteran’s clear cell kidney cancer was at least as likely as not caused by his in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- Respiratory insufficiency, Multiple embolic stroke, Atrial fibrillation, Metastatic clear cell kidney cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 9, 2019
- Citation
- 19162018
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 19162018.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for congestive heart failure with implanted pacemaker, bradycardia, valvular heart disease, and atrial fibrillation, secondary to the Veteran's service-connected hypertension.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the veteran's claimed conditions, including APD, respiratory insufficiency, RHL, and cervical and upper extremity radiculopathy, as well as a compensable rating for LHL. The claims were not granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board is remanding the claim for service connection of the Veteran's cause of death due to a lack of adequate medical evidence regarding the potential nexus between atrial fibrillation and in-service exposure, as well as other service-connected disabilities.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for posttraumatic stress disorder, obstructive sleep apnea as secondary to PTSD, atrial fibrillation as secondary to hypertension, and congestive heart failure with cardiomyopathy and ventricular hypertrophy as secondary to hypertension.
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