The Board denied service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, finding no evidence linking his respiratory failure, pneumonia, malignant neoplasm of the esophagus, gastrointestinal bleeding, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to his military service, including exposure to herbicides and Camp Lejeune contaminated water.
The deciding factor: The VA clinician opined that there is no medical evidence that exposure to Camp Lejeune Water Contamination and Herbicide agents causes, aids, or contributes to the Veteran's conditions, and a nexus to service cannot be established.
- Claimed conditions
- Respiratory failure, Pneumonia, Malignant neoplasm of the esophagus (cancer), Gastrointestinal bleeding, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- Camp Lejeune water
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2025
- Citation
- A25023004
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted readjudication of previously denied claims for service connection for PTSD and COPD, while remanding other issues including entitlement to service connection for an eye disorder, hypertension, tinnitus, a compensable rating for bilateral hearing loss, TDIU, and an initial rating for PTSD.
- Denied
The appeal for service connection for PTSD was dismissed, and the claims for a compensable rating for the lower back scar, service connection for COPD, and peripheral artery disease were denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for PTSD, COPD, a gastrointestinal disability, and migraines due to lack of evidence supporting a link between these conditions and her military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the case to obtain an adequate opinion regarding the Veteran's cause of death, specifically addressing toxic exposures during service and submitted medical literature.
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