The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected condition, and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence showing that the small cell lung cancer was incurred in or aggravated by service, nor did it contribute substantially to the cause of death.
- Claimed conditions
- Small cell lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 25, 2003
- Citation
- 0305579
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,669 · Granted: 23% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0305579.
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: Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no competent and credible evidence to establish exposure to herbicide agents during his military service.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to small cell lung cancer, which is considered a direct result of active military service. The claim related to VA treatment delay and carelessness in diagnosing and treating the Veteran's condition was denied under 38 U.S.C. § 1151.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected hepatitis C contributed substantially to his cause of death, small cell lung cancer. The decision grants service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied DIC benefits based on service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to lack of evidence supporting herbicide exposure during service in Korea, and thus no service connection could be established.
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