The Board has granted the petition to reopen the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and determined that it is warranted. The primary cause of death was pancreatic cancer, which the Board found may be related to exposure to herbicide agents during service. Diabetes mellitus, a contributing cause of death, is also associated with such exposure. As a result, the claim for service connection for the cause of death is granted.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there was an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding whether the Veteran's pancreatic cancer and diabetes mellitus were causally related to his service due to herbicide agent exposure, and thus concluded in favor of the appellant.
- Claimed conditions
- pancreatic cancer, diabetes mellitus
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20072822
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 Board denied service connection for pancreatic cancer as there was no evidence of a nexus between the in-service toxic exposure and the current condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for hypertension and diabetes mellitus to obtain further medical opinions regarding their potential relationship to toxic exposures during active service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for right foot, left elbow, left hip, left ankle, and diabetes mellitus to obtain additional medical evidence.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for cervical spine condition, diabetes mellitus, heart condition, lumbar spine condition, and urinary frequency and voiding condition as there was no evidence of a current diagnosis or in-service incurrence or aggravation.
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