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
Veterans Law Judge
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
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
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What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death is granted as service-connected, with the issue of DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 being dismissed due to the grant of service connection.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not connected to his active-duty service, and therefore the claim for service connection for cause of death and entitlement to DIC is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death due to his service-connected conditions, finding that none of his service-connected conditions contributed to his cause of death.
- Granted
The Veteran's death was due to his service-connected coronary artery disease, which is the principal cause of death. The appeal for service connection for cause of death is granted.
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