The Veteran's death was not due to a service-connected disability and/or otherwise attributable to his military service, leading to the denial of DIC for the cause of the Veteran’s death under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 and accrued benefits for gastrointestinal cancer.
The deciding factor: VA treatment records show that the Veteran was diagnosed with stomach cancer but initially misdiagnosed as esophageal cancer, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment. The VA examiner concluded there was no evidence of negligence or basis for the treatment causing the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastric cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20020751
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 20020751.
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 granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his gastric cancer was at least as likely as not related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, attributing it to gastric cancer that was linked to Agent Orange exposure during his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for cause of death due to gastric cancer, as a new medical opinion is required to address toxic exposures other than Agent Orange.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by his in-service asbestos exposure, leading to gastric cancer. The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
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