The veteran's death was due to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which the appellant claims is related to military service. However, as the veteran did not establish service connection for any disabilities during his lifetime and died without meeting the criteria for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318, the claim is denied.
The deciding factor: The veteran was not rated totally disabled for a continuous period of at least 10 years prior to death or continuously after his last discharge from service in August 1946 for a period of not less than 5 years immediately preceding death. The appellant's argument regarding exposure to radiation during military service is not relevant as the veteran did not establish service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 5, 2004
- Citation
- 0400100
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,440 · Granted: 30% (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 0400100.
What this means for you
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service connection for leukemia, characterized as CLL, was improperly severed. Service connection for T-cell LGL leukemia is restored. The severance of service connection for NHL is upheld.
- Granted
The Board has restored a 100 percent rating for the Veteran's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, effective April 1, 2025.
- Granted
The Veteran's SMC was granted at the intermediate level between 38 U.S.C. § 1114(m) and (n) due to additional disabilities including peripheral neuropathies, tinnitus, hearing loss, and lymphoma.
- Granted
The Veteran's non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma was granted a 100% rating effective February 8, 2019.
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