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 due to exposure to herbicide agents. The primary cause of death was pancreatic cancer, which the Board found at least in equipoise with being caused by exposure to herbicide agents. Diabetes mellitus, a contributing cause of death, is also associated with exposure to herbicide agents.
The deciding factor: The Board determined that there is an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding whether the Veteran's pancreatic cancer was causally related to his service due to exposure to herbicide agents or diabetes mellitus. The Board granted service connection for the cause of death based on this equipoise finding.
- 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
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,890 · Granted: 32% (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 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 diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, visual impairment, hypertension, and erectile dysfunction due to lack of exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Veteran's claims were not granted.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection on the merits are being remanded due to new evidence and development needs. The maximum disability rating for tinnitus has already been assigned.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for diabetes mellitus, prostate cancer, ischemic heart disease, right lower extremity peripheral artery disease, left lower extremity peripheral artery disease, and hypertension as the evidence did not establish an in-service event or exposure to herbicide agents.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not caused by a disability incurred or aggravated in service, and the Board denied the claim for service connection.
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