The Veteran's cause of death was not related to service-connected conditions, including his presumed exposure to Agent Orange. The Board denied the claims for service connection due to lack of evidence linking the fatal cancer to military service.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined that the thyroid cancer was not related to herbicide exposure and did not have a separate and distinct lung cancer but rather had metastasis from the thyroid cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- carcinoma of the lung, metastatic carcinoma of the thyroid gland
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 7, 2016
- Citation
- 1627129
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 1627129.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.