The Board denied the appellant's claim for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, finding that his lung cancer and myocardial infarction were not caused by or substantially contributed to by an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by active military service.
The deciding factor: The VA adjudicators determined that there was no medical evidence linking the veteran's nicotine dependence acquired during service to his subsequent tobacco use, which led to his lung cancer and death.
- Claimed conditions
- Clinical myocardial infarction, Poorly differentiated spindled carcinoma of the right lung, Malignant melanoma
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2002
- Citation
- 0215696
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 0215696.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's claim for a 10 percent evaluation for residuals of malignant melanoma with BCC and SCC was granted. However, the claims for compensable ratings for scars associated with these conditions were denied.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board has denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for malignant melanoma, finding that there is no evidence to support a link between the current diagnosis and active service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's malignant melanoma is granted service connection, with the claim being considered presumptive due to exposure to burn pits during his deployment in Iraq.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a compensable disability rating for his service-connected bilateral hearing loss and remanded claims for service connection for malignant melanoma, lung cancer, kidney disability, hypertension, and TDIU.
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