The Veteran's cause of death was due to lung cancer, which is a covered herbicide disease. The Appellant filed for DIC benefits in 1986 but did not receive them as lung cancer was not yet recognized as a presumptive service-connected condition at that time. She missed the one-year deadline and thus her claim was denied. The effective date of the grant of service connection for the cause of death is July 23, 2009.
The deciding factor: The Appellant did not file a valid DIC claim prior to July 23, 2010 as lung cancer was not recognized as a presumptive service-connected condition at that time.
- Claimed conditions
- carcinoma of the lung
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- May 29, 2015
- Citation
- 1522852
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. Search VA.gov for the original decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 1522852.
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 death was not due to a service-connected disability, and the Board denied entitlement to service connection for the cause of his death.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran is requesting that the AOJ adjudicate whether revision of a March 2006 rating decision which awarded a 100 percent disability rating for carcinoma of the liver and carcinoma of the lung, resulting in the continuation of SMC (L) for aid and attendance, is warranted due to clear and unmistakable error. The Board finds this constitutes pre-decisional error and remands the matter.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a need for additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's lung cancer and death, specifically related to his exposure at Camp Lejeune.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Veteran's claim for a higher disability rating for his service-connected carcinoma of the lung with post-operative right upper lobectomy and COPD was denied as his FEV-1/FVC readings were not less than 55 percent, which is required for a higher rating.
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