The Veteran died from non-small cell lung cancer, which is considered service-connected due to his exposure to herbicide agents during his time in the Republic of Vietnam. The Appellant is therefore entitled to DIC benefits.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's lung cancer was found to be a result of his active duty service and exposure to herbicide agents during his time in the Republic of Vietnam, meeting the criteria for direct service connection.
- Claimed conditions
- Non-small cell lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Gulf War
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 14, 2019
- Citation
- 19185753
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 2,077 · Granted: 25% (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 19185753.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that there are duty to assist errors in the current decision and remands the case for further development, including obtaining an ILER and a medical opinion regarding the etiology of the Veteran's cause of death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's cause of death is being remanded for further development to determine if it was related to in-service TERA exposure.
- Denied
The Veteran's non-small cell lung cancer was rated at 100% effective from January 7, 2025. The claim for an earlier effective date is denied.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for non-small cell lung cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, finding that the evidence did not support a link between these conditions and exposure to jet fuels and other chemicals during active duty.
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