The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, as his lung cancer was not shown to be related to his military service and he did not set foot within the land borders of Vietnam during his service.
The deciding factor: The evidence showed that the Veteran's lung cancer was not manifest in service or within one year of separation, and there was no evidence of exposure to Agent Orange. The Veteran also was not service-connected for any condition at the time of his death that could have contributed to his death.
- Claimed conditions
- Non-small cell lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 19, 2009
- Citation
- 0906048
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,977 · 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 0906048.
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)
The Board has determined that there are duty to assist errors in the current decision and remands the case for further development, including obtaining an ILER and a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is being remanded for further development to determine if it was related to in-service TERA exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's non-small cell lung cancer was rated at 100% effective from January 7, 2025. The claim for an earlier effective date is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for non-small cell lung cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, finding that the evidence did not support a link between these conditions and exposure to jet fuels and other chemicals during active duty.
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