The Board denied the veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for service connection of lung cancer due to herbicide exposure, finding that the earliest possible effective date was September 29, 1996.
The deciding factor: The RO received the veteran's claim on September 29, 1997, and VA regulations established that respiratory cancers were presumed to be service-connected in veterans exposed to certain herbicide agents. The veteran had a nodule in his lung diagnosed in May 1994, which was confirmed as cancerous in June 1995.
- Claimed conditions
- lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 1, 2004
- Citation
- 0408526
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 0408526.
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.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for right and left lower extremity neuropathy, as well as lung cancer, due to a need for further evidence through VA examinations.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions due to a lack of jurisdiction over the claims.
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