The Board denied the appellant's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for the cause of her husband's death, attributing it to cancer of the urinary tract as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation. The decision was based on the liberalizing law contained in Public Law 102-578, which provided that the effective date for compensation granted under this legislation would be assigned no earlier than its effective date.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the legal criteria did not allow for an earlier effective date due to the liberalizing nature of the law and the specific effective date set by Public Law 102-578.
- Claimed conditions
- azotmeia, cancer of the urinary bladder, cancer of the ureter
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 11, 2003
- Citation
- 0307021
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 504 · Granted: 31% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted 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. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 0307021.
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- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not service-connected as the Board found that his cardiopulmonary arrest and cancer of the urinary bladder were not related to his military service, including his time as a POW.
- Granted
The Board of Veterans' Appeals has granted service connection for PTSD and Mood Disorders, both presumed conditions under the PACT Act.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
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