The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that there was no evidence to support a direct link between his in-service exposure to radar and his esophageal adenocarcinoma. The Board also found that another relevant service-connected disability did not contribute to his death.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was insufficient medical evidence to establish a causal relationship between the Veteran's in-service exposure to radar equipment and his esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is required for direct service connection. Additionally, no other service-connected disability contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal adenocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 30, 2020
- Citation
- 20007565
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,287 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 20007565.
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 has granted service connection for the cause of death due to esophageal adenocarcinoma, which was linked to presumed herbicide agent exposure during service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain an adequate medical opinion regarding the link between the Veteran's esophageal adenocarcinoma and his exposure to Agent Orange during service.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for esophageal adenocarcinoma based on the Veteran's exposure to contaminants in the water supply at Camp Lejeune during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, sleep disorder, GERD, and esophageal adenocarcinoma due to duty-to-assist errors. The Veteran will receive a new examination.
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