The Board has dismissed the DIC claim under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 due to lack of a timely Substantive Appeal. The DIC claim on service connection for the cause of death is remanded as it is inextricably intertwined with the pending claims for ischemic heart disease and lung cancer.
The deciding factor: The DIC claim is dismissed because no appeal was filed under 38 U.S.C. § 1318, which requires a timely Substantive Appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- Ischemic heart disease, Lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- Agent Orange / herbicides
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19137356
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,911 · Granted: 10% (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 19137356.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claim for an initial rating of 30 percent prior to July 18, 2014, and a higher than 60 percent rating thereafter for ischemic heart disease is being remanded due to incomplete evidence. The examiner needs to provide more detailed information about the severity of his service-connected condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for an earlier effective date and increased rating for ischemic heart disease due to a failure by the AOJ to request SSA records, which were not available.
- Granted
The Veteran's headache disability is granted as service-connected. The left foot condition and lung cancer claims are remanded due to the need for additional medical opinions.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction, status post stent placement, as well as obstructive sleep apnea, finding that the Veteran's current conditions are related to his military service.
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