The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to glioblastoma brain tumor, which is related to his in-service herbicide exposure. The decision resolves all doubts in favor of the Veteran.
The deciding factor: Service connection was established on a presumptive basis due to the Veteran's conceded exposure to Agent Orange during service and detailed opinions linking the glioblastoma to this exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- glioblastoma brain tumor
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 14, 2020
- Citation
- 20066740
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,272 · Granted: 31% (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 20066740.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for glioblastoma brain tumor and cause of death due to insufficient development regarding the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents in Korea. The appellant is requested to provide any additional information needed, and VA will verify the Veteran's claimed exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claims for service connection for glioblastoma brain tumor and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as secondary to his service-connected chronic motion sickness have been denied. His claim for a compensable disability rating for bilateral hearing loss has also been denied.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was caused by glioblastoma brain tumor, which is not service-connected. The service-connected disabilities did not contribute to his death.
- Denied
The Veteran died in January 2007 from a glioblastoma brain tumor. The VA has not provided any evidence linking the cause of death to service or any presumptive exposure basis, and thus accrued benefits are denied.
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