The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as there was no evidence linking his lung cancer to active service or Agent Orange exposure.
The deciding factor: There is no competent medical evidence linking the Veteran's fatal lung cancer to active service. The Veteran did not have active service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era and is not presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange.
- Claimed conditions
- small cell carcinoma of the bronchus, lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 11, 2009
- Citation
- 0904882
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 Board granted service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's cause of death, including lung cancer and cardio-pulmonary arrest, to address in-service toxic exposures.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions due to a lack of jurisdiction over the claims.
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