The Board granted service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, cholangiocarcinoma, based on evidence supporting a direct relationship between the disease and the Veteran's in-service exposure to Agent Orange.
The deciding factor: The June 2023 and March 2025 opinions of Dr. C.K., which reviewed the case file and provided complete discussions of the medical history, were found to be the most probative evidence supporting a direct relationship between the Veteran's cholangiocarcinoma and his in-service Agent Orange exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- cholangiocarcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 8, 2025
- Citation
- A25058216
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 Board granted an effective date of November 30, 2016, but not earlier, for the award of service connection for cholangiocarcinoma.
- Remanded (sent back)
The appeal for a survivor's pension was denied due to the appellant's countable income exceeding the maximum annual pension rate. The Board also remanded the issue of service connection for cause of death.
- Denied
The Board denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no evidence that his cholangiocarcinoma was related to his military service or any service-connected condition.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for obstructive sleep apnea, effective from the date of the February 2025 rating decision.
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