The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death due to pleural mesothelioma, finding that it was not incurred in or related to service.
The deciding factor: The evidence did not establish a direct link between the Veteran’s service-connected conditions and his death from pleural mesothelioma.
- Claimed conditions
- pleural mesothelioma
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 6, 2019
- Citation
- 19184153
Veterans Law Judge
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. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 19184153.
What this means for you
A final Board denial may be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, generally within 120 days of the Board mailing date. A Supplemental Claim with new and relevant evidence is a separate option. Another Higher-Level Review of the Board decision is not available. Check your own notice: this historical decision does not set your deadline.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits based on service connection for the Veteran's cause of death, and survivor pension benefits due to insufficient evidence regarding toxic exposure risk activities.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Veteran's bilateral hearing loss is granted as service-connected. The claims for peritoneal mesothelioma, pleural mesothelioma, asbestosis scarring, and COPD are denied.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's pleural mesothelioma, which was listed as the immediate cause of death on his certificate, is related to his in-service asbestos exposure and grants service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for pleural mesothelioma and joint pain, finding no current diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma and attributing joint pain to known diagnoses. The claim was decided on the merits.
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