The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his exposure to water contaminants at Camp Lejeune was at least as likely as not the cause of his pancreatic cancer and ultimately his death.
The deciding factor: The private medical opinion provided by a doctor concluded that the Veteran's exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune was at least as likely as not the cause of his pancreatic cancer, which led to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Cardiopulmonary arrest, Cardiac arrest, Arteriosclerotic heart disease, Metastatic adenocarcinoma of pancreas
- How they argued it
- Aggravation of a pre-existing condition
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 3, 2023
- Citation
- A23027393
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 A23027393.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's arteriosclerotic heart disease is rated at 100% effective October 25, 2024. His prostate cancer residuals are rated at 60% effective October 25, 2024.
- Granted
The Board has granted the Veteran's claim for payment or reimbursement of ambulance travel expenses incurred on June 17, 2025 due to an emergency heart attack. The ambulance service was provided by a volunteer organization and later intercepted by a higher-tier EMT company.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death, finding that there is no competent evidence linking any principal or contributory cause of his death to his service.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death, listed as cardiopulmonary arrest secondary to myocardial infraction, was not service-connected. The Board found no evidence linking the heart condition to his military service.
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