The Board has determined that the veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and therefore denied service connection for the cause of death. The eligibility to DEA benefits under Chapter 35 is also denied. The appellant is not entitled to burial benefits at the service-connected rate.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking the veteran's death to his service-connected PTSD or any other service-connected disability, and the primary cause of death was metastatic cancer, which is not related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- left lung mass with left main stem compression, probably cancer, acute cerebrovascular accident (CVA), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), metastatic rectal cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 15, 2006
- Citation
- 0604374
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.
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- Denied
The Board denied service connection for chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation, hiatal hernia, COPD, and prostate cancer as a result of toxic exposure during the Veteran's military service.
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