The Board denied service connection for the cause of death and entitlement to DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C.A. § 1318 due to lack of evidence showing a direct relationship between the veteran's service-connected conditions and his death, as well as the prohibition on claims received after June 9, 1998, where the death is attributable to use of tobacco products during service.
The deciding factor: The Board found that there was no medical evidence relating the veteran's cause of death (lung cancer) to service. The appellant did not file a claim for DIC benefits until April 2004, which was after June 9, 1998, when the prohibition on claims received by VA after this date took effect.
- Claimed conditions
- lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 10, 2007
- Citation
- 0724860
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 0724860.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for a higher evaluation of his service-connected chronic fatigue and weakness due to chemotherapy and radiation treatment for lung cancer is granted, with an evaluation of 60 percent.,The Veteran's claim for a compensable rating for residuals of lung cancer from May 1, 2005 is denied.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a need for further evaluation of the Veteran's lung cancer and its relationship to service, including any in-service granuloma.
- Dismissed
The Board has vacated its decisions granting service connection for lung cancer and remanding issues of tinnitus and TDIU, but the Veteran's death means these appeals are dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection for kidney cancer and lung cancer due to a lack of adequate medical opinion regarding the etiology of his kidney cancer, which is presumed to be related to herbicide exposure. The claim for lung cancer is inextricably intertwined with the kidney cancer claim.
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