The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, which was hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer), based on the evidence supporting a link to herbicide exposure during service.
The deciding factor: Service connection was granted due to an approximate balance of positive and negative evidence regarding the relationship between the Veteran's liver cancer and his presumed exposure to herbicides during service, with the benefit of the doubt resolved in favor of the appellant.
- Claimed conditions
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer)
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 31, 2025
- Citation
- A25029430
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 868 · Granted: 42% (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 A25029430.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied DIC benefits due to the Veteran's death not being caused by VA carelessness, negligence, or similar fault. The Appellant argued that VA was negligent in failing to diagnose liver cancer earlier, but the VA medical opinion concluded that VA did not fail to exercise proper care.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's service-connected disabilities caused or contributed substantially to his death, and whether the principal cause of his death was related to a disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by service, including presumed exposure to herbicide agents during service.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected PTSD contributed substantially to his death from liver cancer, and thus grants service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
- Granted
The Board of Veterans' Appeals has granted service connection for PTSD and Mood Disorders, both presumed conditions under the PACT Act.
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