The veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for the award of service connection for non-small cell carcinoma of the lung was denied as a matter of law, since he did not file a formal claim for this condition until May 11, 2005.
The deciding factor: The evidence does not show that the veteran's lung cancer arose prior to his claim in 2005 or that there was any previous communication indicating an intent to apply for service connection for this condition. The effective date of a grant of service connection is generally the date of receipt of the claim, unless the evidence shows that the disability arose earlier.
- Claimed conditions
- non-small cell carcinoma of the lung
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 15, 2009
- Citation
- 0901693
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
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- Granted
The Veteran is granted an effective date of August 10, 2022, for the grant of service connection for sinusitis based on the PACT Act.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for left and right lower extremity peripheral neuropathy, finding that the conditions are related to in-service herbicide agent exposure.
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