The Veteran's cause of death was not due to a service-connected disability. The Board found that the claimed disabilities (heart disease, diabetes, and esophageal cancer) were not related to his military service.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence of herbicide exposure in Korea or any other basis for establishing service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Heart disease, Diabetes, Esophageal cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 11, 2024
- Citation
- 24001815
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,677 · Granted: 26% (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 24001815.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for SMC in excess of SMC(n) based on his service-connected conditions and additional disabilities, as well as his need for aid and attendance. The appeal was dismissed.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for peripheral neuropathy of the upper extremities and remanded the issue of esophageal cancer.
- Granted
The Veteran's TDIU, SMC on housebound basis, and DEA benefits are granted effective October 16, 2019. The Board found the Veteran unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation due to his service-connected right lung lobectomy.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's appeal is being remanded due to a duty to assist error. The VA needs to obtain examination reports and determine if the service-connected conditions meet the criteria for specially adapted housing and special home adaptation grant.
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