The veteran's claim for service connection for small cell lung carcinoma, which he claimed was due to herbicide exposure, has been dismissed because the veteran died during the appeal process.
The deciding factor: The veteran passed away before his appeal could be decided on its merits.
- Claimed conditions
- small cell lung carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2002
- Citation
- 0201365
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 0201365.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for payment or reimbursement of unauthorized oncology medical treatment provided from January 2011 to April 2011 by Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton, Washington as it was not authorized by VA and was not emergent.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was determined to be due to small cell lung cancer, which is presumed service-connected based on exposure to herbicides during his Vietnam service.
- Partly granted
The Board found it plausible that the Veteran was exposed to asbestos in service, but concluded that his lung cancer was not related to this exposure. The VA examiner's opinion is needed to clarify whether the lung cancer was related to any possible in-service asbestos exposure.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case for additional development, including obtaining a medical opinion on whether the veteran's asbestos exposure during service was a contributory cause of his lung cancer and subsequent death.
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