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Denied

The Board denied the appellant's claim for a retroactive award of educational assistance benefits under Chapter 35 of Title 38, United States Code, for the period during which he pursued a bachelor's degree between January 1990 and May 1993.

The deciding factor: The effective date of the change in law establishing service connection for lung cancer was November 1994, which is after the appellant had completed his education. Therefore, retroactive benefits cannot be awarded.

Claimed conditions
lung cancer
How they argued it
Presumptive (no nexus needed)
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
May 4, 2000
Citation
0011607

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 0011607.

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