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Dismissed

The Veteran's adult daughter, who was not a qualifying surviving child under VA regulations, had her appeal dismissed because there were no eligible claimants for DIC benefits.

The deciding factor: There were no surviving children or other qualified claimants for the purposes of VA laws and regulations regarding DIC benefits.

Claimed conditions
adenocarcinoma of the colon
How they argued it
Direct service connection
Exposure basis
None
Rating assigned
None in this decision
Decision date
April 25, 2019
Citation
19131872

Veterans Law Judge

MICHAEL A. PAPPAS

Decisions by this judge: 1,858 · Granted: 24% (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 19131872.

What this means for you

A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.

What you can do next

Related decisions

Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.

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