The Board found that the veteran's death was not caused by his service-connected condition (spontaneous pneumothoraces), and thus denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death.
The deciding factor: There is no clear relationship between the veteran's service-connected spontaneous pneumothoraces and his lung cancer, which resulted in his death. The Board found that the veteran's cancer was not related to his service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic non-small cell lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 13, 2004
- Citation
- 0404270
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,435 · Granted: 22% (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 0404270.
What this means for you
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Veteran's application for PCAFC benefits was denied due to the death of the Veteran, making it impossible to complete and comply with all applicable requirements of the program.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient development regarding asbestos exposure and service connection for the cause of death. The Veteran's lung cancer is now under review with an addendum opinion from a VA examiner.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a lack of VA-obtained treatment records from Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu, HI. The cause of death is not service-connected.
- Denied
The Veteran's death from metastatic non-small cell lung cancer and obstructive pneumonia was not caused by or related to his military service, including exposure to environmental hazards. The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
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