Veterans’ RightsAn independent resource for veterans
← All decisions
Denied

The Board denied the claim for service connection for the cause of death and denied the claim for nonservice-connected death pension due to lack of qualifying service.

The deciding factor: The appellant's husband served as a recognized guerrilla, which is not considered active military service for the purpose of establishing eligibility for pension benefits under VA law and regulations.

Claimed conditions
bronchogenic carcinoma, pulmonary tuberculosis
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
February 12, 2019
Citation
19110878

Veterans Law Judge

Kristin Haddock

Decisions by this judge: 2,050 · Granted: 32% (granted or partly granted, in the vetted decisions on this site)

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 19110878.

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.

Free starter guide for your own claim

Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.

We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.

We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.

This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.