The Veteran's death was caused by lung cancer, and the appellant is seeking service connection for this cause of death due to exposure to mustard gas during his military service. The VA needs to confirm the Veteran's exposure to mustard gas and determine if it meets the criteria for presumptive service connection.
The deciding factor: The claim requires confirmation of the Veteran's exposure to mustard gas and determination of whether it meets the criteria for presumptive service connection based on full body exposure during active military service.
- Claimed conditions
- carcinomatosis, primary squamous cell carcinoma of the lung
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 31, 2015
- Citation
- 1537144
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 1537144.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death is determined to be related to service-connected prostate cancer, which was caused by metastasis and resulted in carcinomatosis. The Board finds that the evidence supports granting service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by carcinomatosis, which is presumed to be related to Agent Orange exposure during service. The claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death has been granted.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by his military service or any of his service-connected conditions, and there is no evidence linking the cause of death to exposure to herbicide agents.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death is denied as there is no evidence to support a service connection for the condition that led to his death, and he did not meet the criteria for DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318.
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