The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date than December 16, 2011, for a grant of service connection and a 100 percent rating for non-small cell lung cancer was dismissed as the decision became final upon his death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran did not appeal the February 3, 2012, rating decision prior to his death, making it final. The Appellant's claim of an earlier effective date is a freestanding claim that cannot be filed after the Veteran's death and would violate legal prohibitions.
- Claimed conditions
- non-small cell lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 100%
- Decision date
- February 22, 2017
- Citation
- 1705263
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 1705263.
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's appeals for service connection were dismissed due to their death. The claims for adjustment disorder with depressed mood and alcohol use disorder in early remission, as well as non-small cell lung cancer, are now closed.
- Dismissed
Your appeal for service connection for non-small cell lung cancer has been dismissed because the appellant died during the pendency of your appeal.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for service connection for cause of death to correct a pre-decisional duty to assist error related to the Veteran's exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of April 17, 1968 for the establishment of service connection for TBI and headaches, and granted service connection for cause of death.
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