The Board denied DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for the cause of the Veteran's death as a result of medical treatment provided by VA, finding that the criteria for entitlement to such benefits were not met due to lack of evidence showing carelessness or negligence on VA's part.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran’s death was not caused by VA's fault and that the risk of radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis was not foreseeable.
- Claimed conditions
- Hodgkin's disease
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 10, 2019
- Citation
- 19178029
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.
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The Board denied service connection for bilateral hearing loss and various increased rating claims, as well as effective date claims, while remanding the claim for service connection for Hodgkin's disease.
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The Board remanded the Veteran's claims for service connection of b-cell leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, lymphosarcoma, and soft tissue sarcoma due to herbicide exposure. The Veteran served in Vietnam during the period when Agent Orange was used.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for b-cell leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, lymphosarcoma, and soft tissue sarcoma due to a failure of the VA examinations to address evidence related to enlarged lymph glands.
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