The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for the cause of death and DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 due to lack of evidence showing exposure to herbicide agents during service, no in-service or continuous post-service symptoms related to lung cancer or chronic kidney disease, and that the Veteran was not rated as totally disabled at any time.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence is against a finding that the Veteran experienced lung cancer or chronic kidney disease during service, and these conditions are not causally related to service. The Board also found no exposure to herbicide agents during service.
- Claimed conditions
- lung cancer, chronic kidney disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 26, 2019
- Citation
- 19165887
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 19165887.
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 the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that his lung cancer was related to his service-connected melanoma.
- Dismissed
The appeal for service connection for chronic kidney disease was dismissed due to the Veteran not timely filing a Notice of Disagreement within one year of the rating decision.
- Partly granted
The Board denied service connection for a vitamin D deficiency and remanded claims for coronary artery disease, status post femoral bypass, chronic kidney disease, and anemia due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for various conditions, including GERD, chronic kidney disease, COPD, a heart condition, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, insomnia, and obstructive sleep apnea, as additional development is necessary to address the Veteran's exposure to toxic chemical agents during his service.
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