The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there was no evidence to connect any of the conditions listed on the Veteran's death certificate to service or a service-connected disability.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s prostate cancer did not cause his colon cancer and that the prostate cancer had been adequately treated prior to the diagnosis of the colon cancer, making it unlikely that the prostate cancer caused the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- metabolic acidosis, hepatic failure, metastatic adenocarcinoma, adenocarcinoma of the colon
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 21, 2019
- Citation
- 19179776
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,828 · Granted: 32% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed 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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19179776.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's adenocarcinoma of the colon is granted as secondary to his service-connected other specified trauma and stressor related disorder to include alcohol use disorder. The back disability claim is remanded for further development.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not caused by a disability incurred or aggravated in service, and the Board denied the claim for service connection.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was respiratory failure caused by hepatic failure, hepatocellular cancer, and chronic hepatitis C infection.,Service connection for the cause of death is granted as his alcohol and substance abuse were secondary to his service-connected PTSD.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for colon cancer was denied as there is no evidence of a nexus between the condition and his military service, including exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
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