The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was caused by a cancer related to in-service herbicide exposure, and thus service connection is granted for the cause of the Veteran’s death.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence suggests a possibility that the Veteran's lung cancer may have been the primary site of his cancer, and the VA oncologist opined that it was more likely than not caused by in-service herbicide exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal adenocarcinoma, lung metastases
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 2, 2020
- Citation
- 20022991
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 20022991.
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.
- 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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma was related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents.
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