The Board denied an earlier effective date for the grant of service connection for cause of death due to lung cancer, finding that the appellant did not meet the requirements under Nehmer stipulations and that the award was based on a liberalizing law.
The deciding factor: The appellant's claim was received more than one year after the effective date of the liberalizing law removing the 30-year presumption period for lung cancer associated with herbicide exposure, which became effective as of January 1, 2002. The effective date based upon a liberalizing law or VA issue cannot be earlier than the effective date of the Act or administrative issue.
- Claimed conditions
- cause of death: lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- September 12, 2014
- Citation
- 1440691
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 1440691.
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: Denied
The veteran's cause of death was not granted an effective date prior to January 31, 2002 due to the lack of a valid claim for service connection for the cause of death within one year from his death in 1984.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The case is being remanded to the RO for a recalculated dose estimate of ionizing radiation exposure and a new medical opinion regarding its potential impact on the veteran's lung cancer. The claim will then be reviewed again.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the claim for an earlier effective date for dependency and indemnity compensation benefits, finding that the application was received more than a year after the veteran's death.
- Whole decision: Dismissed
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date for diabetes mellitus type II with erectile dysfunction was denied as the evidence did not show that he had been diagnosed and manifested to at least a 10 percent disability rating on or prior to May 8, 2001.
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