The Board denied the appellant's claim for an earlier effective date for DEA benefits and the cause of the Veteran’s death, stating that the award was based on the Veteran's death from a service-connected disability and cannot predate the date of his death.
The deciding factor: The effective date for the current award of DEA benefits cannot predate the effective date entitlement arose, which is the date of the Veteran’s death.
- Claimed conditions
- diabetes, terminal lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 8, 2019
- Citation
- 19126747
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 Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
- Dismissed
The appeals for service connection for various conditions were dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for dermatochalasis, meibomian gland dysfunction, and blepharitis. The claims for lumbosacral strain, left lower extremity radiculopathy (sciatic nerve), right shoulder tendinopathy, diabetes, and prostate cancer with urinary incontinence status-post prostatectomy were remanded.
- Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed due to the Veteran's death during the pendency of the appeal.
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