The Board has determined that the Veteran's cause of death was related to his exposure to herbicides in service, and thus service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death is granted.
The deciding factor: The private clinician concluded that the Veteran's gastroesophageal cancer is at least as likely as not due to his exposure to herbicides in service, resolving all reasonable doubt in favor of the Appellant.
- Claimed conditions
- Gastroesophageal cancer, Cardiac dysrhythmia
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 20, 2026
- Citation
- A26005082
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 A26005082.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding the Veteran's esophageal cancer and its relationship to his military service, specifically exposure to herbicide agents in Vietnam and contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for DIC based on service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death, finding that there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between the Veteran's military service and his cause of death.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected anxiety and depressive disorder materially contributed to his death by suicide, leading to a grant of DIC benefits.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has denied DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for the cause of the Veteran’s death based on VA treatment, finding no fault on the part of VA.,The appeal is also remanded to obtain additional medical records from Huntington VAMC dating back to 1974.
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