The Veteran's cause of death, pulmonary fibrosis and thymic carcinoma, is denied as service connection cannot be established due to lack of evidence linking the conditions to his military service or exposure to herbicides.
The deciding factor: There is no direct evidence linking the Veteran’s thymic carcinoma and pulmonary fibrosis to his military service or exposure to Agent Orange. The Board finds that the private medical opinions are inadequate for establishing a link between the conditions and the Veteran's exposure to herbicides.
- Claimed conditions
- pulmonary fibrosis, thymic carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2018
- Citation
- 18151496
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 18151496.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's pulmonary fibrosis is related to in-service exposure to herbicide agents, and the Board has granted service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for pulmonary fibrosis as there is no evidence of a current diagnosis.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to duty-to-assist errors, including obtaining signed consent forms and an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's lung complications.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for a respiratory disorder, including interstitial lung disease, pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, and pulmonary asbestosis, due to in-service asbestos exposure.
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