The Board has granted the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that hypertension was more likely than not caused by herbicide agent exposure during active service. The decision is based on a new VA opinion supporting this conclusion.
The deciding factor: A June 2021 VA opinion found that the Veteran's hypertension was at least as likely as not etiologically related to his in-service herbicide agent exposure, and thus granted service connection for the cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic carcinoma of the brain, primary carcinoma of the esophagus, metastatic, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 14, 2021
- Citation
- 21074121
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 21074121.
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 hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for additional development due to conflicting opinions regarding service connection for peripheral neuropathy, hypertension, and skin disabilities related to herbicide exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's claim for service connection for hypertension and increased rating for anxiety disorder have been denied. The Board found that there is no evidence of a current disability meeting the criteria for hypertension, and the Veteran's anxiety disorder does not meet the criteria for a higher rating.
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