The Board found that the Veteran died from metastatic squamous cell carcinoma to the lungs, which was not a disability of service origin and did not contribute substantially or materially to his cause of death. The claim for service connection for the cause of death is denied.
The deciding factor: The medical evidence does not establish that any service-connected disability caused or contributed substantially or materially to the Veteran's death.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic squamous cell carcinoma to the lungs, squamous cell carcinoma of the right base of the tongue, squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 2, 2017
- Citation
- 1730839
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 1730839.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the matter for a new VA medical opinion addressing all of the Veteran's claimed in-service toxic exposures, including herbicide agents, asbestos, concrete dust, burning waste, asphalt, and related chemicals.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remanded the case to obtain additional medical opinions regarding the Veteran's claim for service connection of squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil due to toxic exposure in service.
- Partly granted
The veteran is granted a 30% rating for dysphagia but denied a higher rating for squamous cell carcinoma.
- Granted
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for bilateral hearing loss and tinnitus have been denied as there was no prior claim filed before October 14, 2019.,New evidence has been received to support the service connection claims for squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil and adenocarcinoma with signet ring cells. These claims are now granted.
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