The Veteran's death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the criteria for DIC benefits under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 were not met.
The deciding factor: There is no evidence linking the Veteran’s service to his cause of death or any other disabilities that brought about his death.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic advanced carcinoma of the left lung, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), systolic and diastolic heart failure
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- January 29, 2020
- Citation
- 20007772
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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- Partly granted
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- Denied
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