The Board denied the Veteran's claim of service connection for cause of death, esophageal carcinoma, malignant pleural effusion, and cardiopulmonary failure. The medical evidence did not support a link between these conditions and his military service.
The deciding factor: Multiple medical opinions found no causal relationship between the Veteran’s service-connected disabilities and his death or other claimed conditions.
- Claimed conditions
- esophageal carcinoma, malignant pleural effusion, cardiopulmonary failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20066513
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 Barrett's esophagitis, GERD, and esophageal carcinoma based on the Veteran's exposure to herbicides during active service in Vietnam.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for an adequate medical opinion to address whether the Veteran's principal causes of death were related to his service, specifically focusing on sun exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is remanded due to incomplete information regarding his SSA income. The Board will verify the amount of his SSA benefits and request that he submit EVR and Medical Expense Reports for the specified period.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death due to esophageal and gastric cancer, finding that there was no evidence linking these conditions to his military service or presumed Agent Orange exposure.
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