The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the veteran's death and eligibility for Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) effective from March 26, 2002. The appellant is not entitled to earlier effective dates.
The deciding factor: VA regulations were amended in 2002 adding lung cancers to the list of diseases that may be presumptively service connected for a 'radiation-exposed veteran'. The Board found no evidence linking the veteran's cancer to radiation exposure and denied earlier effective dates.
- Claimed conditions
- pneumonia, left lung carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 12, 2002
- Citation
- 0216188
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 0216188.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for pneumonia and remanded the claims for iodine allergy, pilonidal cyst, sulfa allergy, heart disability, acquired psychiatric disorder, and lower and upper extremity disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to an inadequate VA medical opinion and a need for additional evidence.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's acute hypoxemia, respiratory failure, and pneumonia were related to service or toxic exposure under the PACT Act.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pneumonia and an increased rating for asthma, and remanded several other claims including those for heart condition, chronic low back condition, diabetes mellitus type II, GERD, hypertension, and sleep apnea.
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