The Veteran's death was caused by metastatic cancer and transitional cell cancer of the bladder, which are presumed to be due to exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Guam. The Board granted service connection for the cause of death based on this presumption.
The deciding factor: The Veteran had a disease (bladder cancer) that is presumed to have been caused by exposure to herbicide agents during his service in Guam, which led to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic cancer, transitional cell cancer of the bladder
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 10, 2023
- Citation
- 23001415
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 913 · Granted: 41% (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 23001415.
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 case due to insufficient medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's throat cancer, which was caused by asbestos exposure in service, led to his fatal metastatic cancer. The VA is instructed to obtain a new VA opinion addressing these theories.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal was dismissed due to his death prior to a decision being made.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is attributed to metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis. The Board finds that a retrospective posthumous medical opinion is needed to determine whether bladder cancer was a primary or metastatic site, and to verify exposure to Agent Blue and asbestos in military construction.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's cause of death and his exposure claims. The VA will need to verify the Veteran's service in Vietnam, assess asbestos exposure, and provide a medical opinion on whether any of these exposures contributed to the Veteran's death.
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