The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected as his conditions were not incurred or aggravated by service, and there was no herbicide exposure in Panama. The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence of herbicide exposure in Panama during the Veteran's service, and the VA opinion concluded that the Veteran’s lymphoma was not caused by or incurred in service.
- Claimed conditions
- electrolyte imbalance, hypereosinophiliac syndrome, possible lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2019
- Citation
- 19182746
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,456 · Granted: 23% (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 19182746.
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: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for payment or reimbursement of medical expenses incurred at private hospitals in Jacksonville, Florida on May 4, 2015 and June 8, 2015 due to lack of emergency treatment. The Board found that the need for treatment was not emergent.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's death was caused by electrolyte imbalance, cirrhosis, and hepatitis C. The Board found no service connection for these conditions due to lack of evidence linking them to his active duty or any incident therein.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's death was attributed to cardiac arrhythmia due to or as a consequence of electrolyte imbalance, which is related to Agent Orange exposure. However, the remand requires further examination and opinion regarding whether polycystic kidney disease and/or renal cell carcinoma are also related to Agent Orange exposure.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied DIC benefits based on service connection for the cause of death due to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance caused by anal fistula, finding no evidence of herbicide exposure or service-connected conditions related to the cause of death.
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