The Board has determined that the Veteran's death was caused by his metastatic lung cancer, which is at least as likely as not due to asbestos exposure during his service. As a result, DIC benefits for cause of death are granted.
The deciding factor: The evidence shows the Veteran had asbestos exposure during service and his lung cancer was related to this exposure, with reasonable doubt resolved in favor of the appellant.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lungs
- How they argued it
- Reopened with new and material evidence
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- June 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19146751
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,242 · 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 19146751.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Partly granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death under the PACT Act, but has remanded to determine if service connection can be established without regard to the new law.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that further development is necessary before the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death can be adjudicated. The claims are remanded to obtain an addendum opinion from a VA examiner regarding whether exposure to TCE, PAH, arsenic, lead, and/or petroleum compounds and their derivatives at Chanute Air Force Base was related to the Veteran's lung cancer.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to metastatic lung cancer, finding that it was not caused or contributed substantially or materially to her death.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of the veteran's death due to radiation exposure, but cannot assign an earlier effective date as no other provisions support such a grant.
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