The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence linking his bronchogenic carcinoma to his military service. The Board considered various medical opinions and noted that the most competent evidence attributed the cancer to the Veteran's history of smoking.
The deciding factor: The VA opinion found it less likely than not that the Veteran’s cause of death was due to a disease incurred in active military service, attributing it more to his tobacco use than to diesel fuel or heat exposure.
- Claimed conditions
- cardiac failure, coronary insufficiency, bronchogenic carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 16, 2019
- Citation
- 19103856
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 19103856.
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.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no evidence to support a causal relationship between in-service malaria and the Veteran's death from cardiac asystole with coronary arteriosclerosis and chronic obstructive lung disease.
- Denied
The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability.,The Veteran did not have a continuously rated totally disabling condition for at least 10 years immediately preceding his death.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, finding that new and material evidence had not been submitted to reopen the previously denied claim.
- Granted
The Board grants service connection for the cause of the veteran's death, as his service-connected disabilities contributed to his demise.
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