The Board finds that the evidence supports entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as his lung cancer was likely related to asbestos exposure during service.
The deciding factor: The medical opinions provided by Dr. C.D. and Dr. R.V.N., who were treating physicians at the time of the Veteran's surgery, are in relative equipoise with the VA examiners' negative findings, but they provide strong evidence that the Veteran's lung cancer was likely related to his asbestos exposure during service.
- Claimed conditions
- carcinoma of the lung, empyema streptococcus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 18, 2009
- Citation
- 0905918
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,036 · Granted: 27% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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 0905918.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
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