The Board has determined that the veteran's death from lung cancer was secondary to his service-connected COPD, and thus service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is granted.
The deciding factor: COPD, a disease diagnosed in service, caused the immediate or principal cause of the veteran's death from lung cancer, which was proximately due to or the result of the service-connected condition of COPD.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic carcinoma of the lungs - small cell, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), history of cigarette smoking
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 19, 2005
- Citation
- 0534159
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 0534159.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
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Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
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- Denied
The Board denied service connection for asthma, COPD, pancreatitis, stroke, and left arm weakness (claimed as secondary to stroke) based on the presumption of exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune. The evidence did not support a finding that these conditions were related to service or due to in-service exposure.
- Dismissed
The appeal seeking readjudication of the previously denied claim for PTSD and multiple other conditions is dismissed due to a procedural defect. The Veteran's authorized representative at the time the appeal was submitted did not have the authority to file the appeal.
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