The Veteran's death was caused by non-small cell lung cancer, which is a disease presumed to be caused by exposure to ionizing radiation. The Appellant applied for DIC benefits in June 2012 and the effective date of service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death was granted as June 20, 2011. However, the claim for an earlier effective date is denied.
The deciding factor: The effective date for the grant of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death was fixed at June 20, 2011 based on liberalizing VA regulations making lung cancer a disease subject to presumptive service connection based on exposure to ionizing radiation. The claimant did not file her claim within one year from this effective date.
- Claimed conditions
- Non-small cell lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Presumptive (no nexus needed)
- Exposure basis
- Ionizing radiation
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- April 19, 2019
- Citation
- 19130865
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,088 · Granted: 33% (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 19130865.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there are duty to assist errors in the current decision and remands the case for further development, including obtaining an ILER and a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is being remanded for further development to determine if it was related to in-service TERA exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's non-small cell lung cancer was rated at 100% effective from January 7, 2025. The claim for an earlier effective date is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for non-small cell lung cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, finding that the evidence did not support a link between these conditions and exposure to jet fuels and other chemicals during active duty.
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