The Board has denied the veteran's claim for service connection for a right lung mass and left kidney removal, claimed as a result of tobacco use. The appeal is based on direct evidence rather than any presumption or secondary condition.
The deciding factor: The VA determined that there was no direct evidence linking the conditions to military service.
- Claimed conditions
- right lung mass, left kidney removal
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 6, 2004
- Citation
- 0403455
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,196 · Granted: 17% (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 0403455.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to the need for additional development related to toxic exposure claims, specifically jet fuel and asbestos exposure. The AOJ must determine if the Veteran participated in any TERA (Toxic Exposure Risk Activity) based on his service duties and locations.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeal for service connection for kidney cancer, which was due to exposure at Camp Lejeune, has been granted. The claim is dismissed as the benefit sought on appeal has already been fully addressed in a previous decision.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a left ankle disorder, a left leg disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder, to include PTSD. However, it granted an initial rating of 20 percent for residuals of bladder cancer and 10 percent for a scar of the left lower quadrant.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for kidney and bladder cancer, as well as the removal of the left kidney due to a service-connected disability.
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