The Veteran's appeals for a compensable rating for COPD with emphysema and history of pulmonary tuberculosis, as well as service connection for lung cancer secondary to COPD, have been dismissed due to the Veteran's death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran died during the pendency of his appeal, thus the Board has no jurisdiction to adjudicate the merits of these claims.
- Claimed conditions
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with emphysema, history of pulmonary tuberculosis, lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 23, 2020
- Citation
- 20005911
What this means for you
A dismissal means the Board did not decide the issue on its merits — usually because it was withdrawn or had become moot. It says more about procedure than about whether a claim like this can win.
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.
- Partly granted
The Board granted an effective date of December 12, 2023, for a 50 percent evaluation of bipolar disorder and remanded the other issues for further development.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claim for an adequate medical opinion regarding the Veteran's cause of death, including lung cancer and cardio-pulmonary arrest, to address in-service toxic exposures.
- Dismissed
The Board dismissed the veteran's appeals for service connection for various conditions due to a lack of jurisdiction over the claims.
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