The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death, colon cancer, is related to his service due to exposure to Agent Orange. The claim for service connection for the cause of death is granted.
The deciding factor: Competent evidence established a link between the Veteran’s in-service herbicide agent exposure and his development of colorectal cancer, which contributed substantially to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Colon Cancer
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 16, 2020
- Citation
- 20047741
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 20047741.
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.
- Denied
The Veteran's service-connected disabilities were not of such severity to prevent him from securing or following any substantially gainful occupation, and his TDIU claim was denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 due to insufficient evidence showing that VA's failure to diagnose the Veteran's colon cancer resulted in additional disability.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was due to respiratory failure from lung cancer, which was metastatic from his primary colon cancer. The Board found that the Veteran's lung cancer and colon cancer were not related to service or any in-service exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's appeals for service connection for colon cancer and hypertension were denied in the April 2024 Board decision. The reduction of his disability rating from 50% to 30% was found proper.
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