The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death and DEA benefits, finding no evidence supporting a causal link between the Veteran's metastatic adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx and his military service.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish that the Veteran was exposed to herbicide agents during his service in Thailand, nor was there sufficient evidence linking his cancer to any incident of service.
- Claimed conditions
- Metastatic adenocarcinoma, Squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2022
- Citation
- 22001135
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,913 · Granted: 30% (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 22001135.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, liver cancer due to exposure at Camp Lejeune, is granted as service-connected.
- Granted
The Board found that the reduction in the rating for partial left hemilaryngectomy, residual of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx from 100% to 30%, effective October 1, 2003, was proper. The Veteran's disability is now rated at 50% since November 29, 2005.
- Partly granted
The Veteran's cause of death was attributed to head and neck cancer, but his service-connected laryngeal cancer and basal cell carcinoma of the lower lip were not considered contributory causes. The Board found no evidence of herbicide exposure or environmental toxin exposure during service that could support a presumption of service connection for his cancers.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the veteran's death was caused by his service-connected cancer, which they believe may have been aggravated by his inservice exposure to Agent Orange.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.