The Board denied an earlier effective date for posthumous entitlement to compensation during the veteran's lifetime for service-connected cancer of the lung and esophagus, secondary to herbicide exposure.
The deciding factor: The earliest possible effective date is October 31, 1995, based on medical evidence indicating that the veteran's death was caused by widely metastatic lung cancer instead of esophageal cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- cancer of the lung, cancer of the esophagus
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 3, 2009
- Citation
- 0903776
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 Veteran's esophageal cancer is granted service connection, and the Board finds that his stomach condition and GERD are also related to his now service-connected esophageal cancer.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death should be remanded to allow for further development under 38 C.F.R. § 3.311 due to potential exposure to ionizing radiation in service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right lower extremity sciatica associated with the Veteran's service-connected lumbosacral spine strain, but remanded claims for service connection for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and sleep apnea.
- 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.
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