The Veteran's death was not service-connected as the cause of his death due to metastatic lung cancer, which did not manifest during or within one year after service. The Board found no evidence of exposure to herbicides and concluded that service connection could not be established on a direct basis.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence of chronic cardiopulmonary or lung disability in the Veteran's service records, and metastatic lung cancer did not manifest during or within one year after service.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic lung cancer, cardiopulmonary arrest
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- March 12, 2012
- Citation
- 1209237
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1209237.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to obtain a medical opinion regarding whether the Veteran's death was linked to his service, including exposure to Agent Orange.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic lung cancer, was found to be related to service and caused or contributed substantially to the Veteran's death. The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of his death, finding that there was no evidence linking any of the immediate or contributing causes of his death to his period of active duty service. The Board also found that the PACT Act did not apply in this case as the Veteran served prior to the period when herbicide agents were presumed used.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma, which is presumed to be related to his exposure to herbicides during service in Vietnam. The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected metastatic lung cancer contributed substantially or materially to his death.,Entitlement to DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 was dismissed as moot due to the grant of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
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