The Veteran's cause of death, colon cancer, was determined to be due to his exposure to Agent Orange during service. The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death based on this presumption.
The deciding factor: The medical opinion established that the Veteran's herbicide exposure in Vietnam caused his colon cancer, which contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- colon cancer, metastases to liver, metastases to lung, metastases to bone, metastases to peritoneum
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20005902
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection of colon cancer, claimed as due to exposure to asbestos, for an addendum opinion considering additional evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for colon cancer as the evidence did not support a link between the Veteran's current condition and their in-service toxic exposure risk activity.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claim for colon cancer to obtain a medical opinion on its etiology, particularly regarding exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the claims.
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