The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to exposure to Agent Orange during service, which contributed substantially to the Veteran's pancreatic cancer and subsequent death. The DIC claim under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 is dismissed as moot.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not address the potential etiology between the Veteran’s in-service exposure to herbicides and his pancreatic cancer, which was related to service including his exposure to Agent Orange during Vietnam.
- Claimed conditions
- pancreatic cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 15, 2019
- Citation
- 19178527
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for pancreatic cancer as there was no evidence of a nexus between the in-service toxic exposure and the current condition.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for pancreatic cancer, finding that the evidence is in equipoise regarding whether the Veteran's condition was due to his in-service exposure to toxic and environmental hazards.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the Veteran's claim for service connection for pancreatic cancer due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error, requiring further development of evidence related to toxic exposure.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for pancreatic cancer, resolving reasonable doubt in favor of the Veteran based on evidence suggesting his condition was caused by exposure to herbicide agents during active service.
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