The Board denied the claim for DIC benefits and service connection for cause of death due to lack of evidence linking the Veteran's terminal metastatic bladder cancer to his military service, including exposure to herbicides. The primary cause of death was listed as metastatic bladder cancer.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners concluded that there is no direct correlation between the Veteran’s military service and his terminal metastatic bladder cancer, which was attributed primarily to smoking rather than any connection to Agent Orange exposure or other service-connected conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic bladder cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 18, 2019
- Citation
- 19179526
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 granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his metastatic bladder cancer was likely incurred in or caused by his active service due to exposure to toxic chemicals, including benzene.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death, finding no evidence to support a link between any in-service conditions and the Veteran's death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was attributed to metastatic bladder cancer. The Board is remanding the case due to unclear character of service and incomplete records, particularly for the period from December 1958 to April 1960.
- Granted
The Board finds that service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is warranted based on the evidence showing that arteriosclerotic heart disease substantially or materially contributed to his death, and applying the doctrine of reasonable doubt.
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