The Board dismissed the veteran's claim of entitlement to service connection for a lung disorder due to asbestos exposure because the veteran died during the pendency of the appeal.
The deciding factor: The veteran passed away before a decision could be made on his claim, thus rendering it moot.
- Claimed conditions
- lung disorder
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 14, 2004
- Citation
- 0401383
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 0401383.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to a claims processing error, as there was no adjudicative determination from which the Veteran could file a notice of disagreement.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a lung disorder and scoliosis, finding that the evidence did not support the existence of separate and distinct conditions from his already service-connected disabilities.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a thyroid disorder and remanded claims for lung, skin, psychiatric, and back disorders.
- Partly granted
The Board grants service connection for headaches as the evidence supports a direct link to the Veteran's active military service.
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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.