The Veteran's cause of death, esophageal cancer with metastases and respiratory failure, is not service-connected. The Board found no evidence to support a connection between the Veteran's service or any service-connected conditions and his death.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions did not find a link between the Veteran's service or any service-connected conditions and his cause of death (esophageal cancer with metastases).
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal cancer, respiratory failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 3, 2019
- Citation
- 19190939
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 19190939.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the Veteran's cause of death to correct predecisional duty to assist errors, including obtaining additional records and a medical nexus opinion.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's acute hypoxemia, respiratory failure, and pneumonia were related to service or toxic exposure under the PACT Act.
- Granted
The Veteran's esophageal cancer is granted service connection due to herbicide exposure during his service in the Republic of Vietnam.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain additional evidence, including service treatment records and private medical records, and to obtain an addendum medical opinion regarding the Veteran's causes of death.
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