The Board found that the Veteran's lung cancer was not incurred in service or related to his service-connected COPD, and thus denied the claim for service connection.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner opined it was less likely than not that the Veteran's lung cancer was related to his active duty service, including exposure to environmental hazards during the Gulf War. The primary cause of the Veteran's lung cancer was found to be cigarette smoking, and it is unlikely that the lung cancer was a progression of his service-connected COPD.
- Claimed conditions
- squamous cell lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 29, 2017
- Citation
- 1761162
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 1761162.
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 claim for a lung disability to obtain adequate examinations and medical opinions addressing whether the Veteran's current lung disabilities are related to his in-service exposures.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for squamous cell lung cancer and asthma as the evidence did not support a causal relationship between these conditions and the Veteran's military service.
- Granted
The Board granted an effective date of September 13, 2019 for the award of Dependency and Indemnity (DIC) for service connection for the cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings for squamous cell lung cancer and lymph node squamous cell carcinoma have been denied.,The Veteran's claim for service connection for COPD has been remanded, as the issue is related to his service-connected lung cancer.
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