The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and VA did not fail to timely diagnose or treat his cancer. Therefore, DIC benefits under both § 1151 and § 1318 are denied.
The deciding factor: The cause of the Veteran's death (end-stage NSCLC) is not shown to have first manifested in service, nor was it caused by a service-connected disability or proximately caused by VA care. The Veteran did not meet the eligibility criteria for DIC benefits under § 1318.
- Claimed conditions
- end-stage nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), alcoholism, cervical radiculopathy
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 15, 2010
- Citation
- 1009564
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 1009564.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for cervical radiculopathy as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected cervical spine disability and denied an initial rating in excess of 20 percent for a cervical spine disability.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the service connection claim for alcoholism as it requires a new opinion to address whether clear and unmistakable evidence demonstrates that the Veteran's alcohol use disorder both pre-existed his active military service and was not aggravated during service.
- Partly granted
The Board granted the application to reopen claims for service connection for alcoholism and psychiatric disability, but remanded the matter of entitlement to service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for a right shoulder disability, cervical and lumbar spine disabilities, and secondary service connection for cervical and lumbar radiculopathies.
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