The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for lung cancer and metastases of lung cancer was denied as the claim was filed after the regulatory change allowing for presumptive service connection based on Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: The claim was filed after the effective date of the liberalizing regulation, which allowed for a presumption of service connection for respiratory cancers including lung cancer due to Agent Orange exposure. The veteran's claim was not filed within one year prior to this change and thus cannot be granted an earlier effective date.
- Claimed conditions
- lung cancer, metastases of lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- November 30, 2000
- Citation
- 0031352
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 0031352.
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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