The Board found no service-connected disability that contributed to the veteran's death, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of his death.
The deciding factor: There was no evidence linking any service-connected disability to the veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- malignancy involving the liver, lungs, lymph nodes, right pneumothorax
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2002
- Citation
- 0216627
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 0216627.
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 Board granted a 10 percent disability rating based on multiple noncompensable service-connected disabilities for the period on appeal prior to May 31, 2016.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for an initial rating in excess of 0 percent for service-connected headaches and dismissed the appeal regarding the propriety of a proposed reduction in the evaluation of right pneumothorax from 20 percent to 0 percent.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for an earlier effective date for service connection for right and left pneumothorax, finding that his correspondence did not constitute a valid Notice of Disagreement.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's lung cancer is being remanded due to a failure to verify his potential exposure to herbicide agents during service. The Board requires that the claims file be reviewed by an appropriate Records Research Specialist.
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