The Board denied an earlier effective date for DIC benefits due to the veteran's death, finding that the award should be based on the date of receipt of the claim rather than a retroactive date.
The deciding factor: The effective date for the grant of service connection for the cause of the veteran's death could not be earlier than June 9, 1994 due to the liberalizing law and regulation that established presumptive service connection for respiratory cancers based on exposure to herbicide agents (Agent Orange).
- Claimed conditions
- lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 16, 2000
- Citation
- 0007171
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 0007171.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for right and left lower extremity neuropathy, as well as lung cancer, due to a need for further evidence through VA examinations.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions due to a lack of jurisdiction over the claims.
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