The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that prostate cancer did not contribute substantially or materially to his death and systemic scleroderma was not related to military service including exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinions found no causal link between the Veteran’s service-connected prostate cancer and his fatal systemic scleroderma.
- Claimed conditions
- Systemic Scleroderma, Prostate Cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2020
- Citation
- 20072930
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of March 15, 2023, for a 40 percent evaluation for service-connected prostate cancer and earlier dates for the awards of service connection for anterior and posterior trunk scars.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection due to new and relevant evidence having been received since a previous denial.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected disabilities. The claims for a heart disorder and prostate cancer were remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for erectile dysfunction and denied increased ratings for a painful post-right inguinal hernia repair scar, hemorrhoids, and migraine headaches. The reduction of the rating for prostate cancer from 100 percent to 60 percent was upheld.
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