The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to metastatic esophageal carcinoma, which is presumed to be caused by herbicide exposure during service in Vietnam.
The deciding factor: The private medical opinion established a link between the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents and his development of metastatic esophageal carcinoma.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic esophageal carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2026
- Citation
- A26003517
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 A26003517.
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 Veteran's cause of death was not related to herbicide agent exposure, but service connection for the cause of death is granted due to a current disability (metastatic esophageal carcinoma) and a causal relationship established on a direct basis.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for cause of death due to metastatic esophageal carcinoma, which the Veteran was presumed exposed to herbicide agents during his service in Vietnam. The Board found that exposure to herbicide agents likely caused or substantially contributed to the cause of death.
- Denied
The Board has determined that the cause of the Veteran's death was metastatic esophageal carcinoma, which is not service-connected due to lack of evidence linking it to his presumed exposure to Agent Orange. The Board also found no evidence of primary lung cancer and concluded that the esophageal cancer did not result from Agent Orange exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran died of metastatic esophageal carcinoma, and the Appellant is seeking service connection for this cause of death as secondary to in-service Agent Orange exposure. The Board has ordered a VA medical opinion to determine whether the lung cancer was primary or metastatic, and if it could be related to Agent Orange exposure.
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