The Veteran's death was caused by VA's failure to timely diagnose his Stage I non-small cell lung cancer, resulting in the progression of the cancer to Stage III. The Board found that this failure proximately caused the Veteran's death and granted compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for the cause of the Veteran’s death.
The deciding factor: The VA failed to diagnose the Veteran's lung cancer at an earlier stage, leading to its progression to a more advanced stage where treatment options were significantly reduced.
- Claimed conditions
- Malignant pleural effusions, Non small cell lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 22, 2018
- Citation
- 18104662
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 18104662.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 service connection for cause of death to obtain a medical opinion on whether the Veteran's cause of death was caused by or etiologically related to exposure to multiple vaccinations during service.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was caused by non-small cell lung cancer, which is presumed to be related to his service due to exposure to herbicide agents while serving aboard a ship within 12 nautical miles of Vietnam. The Board granted service connection for the cause of death.
- Denied
The Board found that the service-connected residuals from cold injury of the left and right lower extremities did not cause or contribute to the Veteran's death.,The Veteran died due to non-small cell lung cancer, which was not proximately caused by VA care.
- Denied
The Board denied the veteran's claims for increased ratings for his service-connected lumbar myositis, psychoneurosis and conversion hysteria, residuals of shrapnel wounds of the left thigh and pelvis with retained foreign bodies and scars, and residuals of shell fragment wounds of the right thigh and left leg. The veteran was also denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability due to service-connected disabilities.
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