The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the appellant did not meet the criteria for dependency and indemnity compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's lung cancer developed due to metastasis from his pancreatic cancer, rather than herbicide exposure or any service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2010
- Citation
- 1005183
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 1005183.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for pancreatic cancer as there was no evidence of a nexus between the in-service toxic exposure and the current condition.
- 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 claims for service connection for right and left lower extremity neuropathy, as well as lung cancer, due to a need for further evidence through VA examinations.
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