The Board denied service connection for the cause of death, finding that the Veteran's cancer was not caused by his service or exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: The VA examiners found no evidence linking the Veteran's tonsillar and lung cancers to his service or exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell cancer of lung and head, tonsillar cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- October 17, 2023
- Citation
- 23056403
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 23056403.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for tonsillar cancer (claimed as throat and respiratory cancer) due to a lack of evidence showing that his condition began during active service or is related to an in-service injury or disease, including presumed exposure to herbicide agents and contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for service connection for tonsillar cancer and metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck are remanded due to a duty to assist error. The Board finds that VA failed to provide a VA examination prior to the May 2020 rating decision on appeal.
- Whole decision: Granted
Service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted due to his service-connected tonsillar cancer being identified as the immediate cause of death.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for tonsillar cancer was granted with an effective date of January 13, 2020.
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