Lung cancer decisions — 2015

The Board has determined that additional development is needed to address the Veteran's claim for service connection for lung cancer, including obtaining private treatment records and providing a VA examination.

The Veteran's claimed respiratory disorder, collapsed lung, and neuropathy of the upper and lower extremities were not incurred in or aggravated by service. The Board finds no evidence to support a direct service connection claim for these conditions.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's tremors, kidney cancer, lung cancer, and bone cancer are related to his service-connected kidney cancer due to exposure at Camp Lejeune.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for lung cancer was granted, with the decision being on the merits.

The Board has remanded the case for further development to determine if the Veteran was exposed to asbestos during service and whether his lung cancer is related to this exposure.

The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's exposure to herbicides and service-connected disabilities at the time of his death. The appellant is seeking service connection for cause of her husband's death, which may be related to his lung cancer.

The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the appellant is not entitled to DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 as there is no evidence of actual or presumptive Agent Orange exposure during his military service.

The Board found no evidence to support the Veteran's exposure to herbicide agents during service, and thus could not establish presumptive service connection for his lung cancer. The cause of death was determined not to be related to his active military service.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected PTSD contributed substantially or materially to his death due to metastatic lung cancer, and grants service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.

The Board denied the claim for an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for lung cancer, finding no legal basis to do so.

The Board has remanded the case for further adjudication, including determining if the appellant is eligible to substitute for the Veteran's claims of service connection for lung and brain cancers as secondary to radiation exposure during service.

The Veteran's lung cancer and post-operative right lobectomy residuals are currently rated at 30 percent. The case is being remanded for further examination to determine the current level of severity of his service-connected lung cancer, status post right lobectomy.

The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be metastatic testicular cancer, which the VA medical opinion found not related to service-connected conditions or any presumptive exposure. The Board denied all claims as there was no evidence that a service-connected disability caused or contributed substantially to his death.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's current lung disabilities, including his squamous cell carcinoma and COPD, are not related to his service. The medical evidence does not support a link between these conditions and any incident of service.

The Veteran died in November 2010 and the Board finds that he did not have a pending claim for service connection at the time of his death, thus denying entitlement to VA burial benefits.

The Board has remanded the case for additional development due to a lack of information regarding ionizing radiation exposure during service.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims of entitlement to service connection for hypertension, a lumbar spine disability, depression (secondary to PTSD), a benign growth of the lung, migraine headaches, and lung cancer. The evidence did not establish a link between any of these conditions and service.

The Veteran's appeal for an initial compensable evaluation for bilateral hearing loss prior to April 30, 2014, and in excess of 10 percent thereafter has been withdrawn. The remaining claims for increased or separate evaluations for residuals of lung cancer are remanded for further development.

The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for sleep apnea, finding that it is not related to active duty or his service-connected small cell lung cancer. The reduction of the disability rating from 30% to 10% was not addressed in this decision.

The Veteran's cause of death is being reviewed due to his lung cancer and parotid cancer. The VA will verify if the Veteran had qualifying service in Vietnam for herbicide exposure, and seek a medical opinion on whether his lung cancer caused or contributed to his death.