The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for cause of death due to metastatic lung cancer, finding that there was no evidence showing any in-service event, injury, or illness involving his lung cancer. The Board also found that there is no medical opinion linking the Veteran’s military service directly to his diagnosis.
The deciding factor: The preponderance of the evidence did not support a finding of herbicide exposure during service and there was no direct link between the Veteran's military service and his diagnosed metastatic lung cancer.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- May 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20034696
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 20034696.
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.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death, metastatic lung cancer, was found to be related to service and caused or contributed substantially to the Veteran's death. The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the Veteran's cause of death.
- Granted
The Veteran's cause of death was metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma, which is presumed to be related to his exposure to herbicides during service in Vietnam. The Board found that the Veteran's service-connected metastatic lung cancer contributed substantially or materially to his death.,Entitlement to DIC under 38 U.S.C. § 1318 was dismissed as moot due to the grant of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding whether the Veteran's esophageal cancer, which caused his death, was related to his service exposure to herbicide agents.
- Denied
The Veteran's cause of death was not caused by a service-connected disability, and the cancer did not manifest to a compensable degree within one year after discharge from service. The Veteran was rated 100% disabled for his mental health disorder less than two years before his death, but he was not rated continuously for ten years preceding death or continuously since release from active duty for at least five years preceding death.
Free starter guide for your own claim
Reading this because you were denied or under-rated? Get the plain-English next steps — your appeal options, the deadline that protects you, and how appeals like yours turn out. One email, no spam.
We will only use this to send the guide. No spam, unsubscribe any time. We never sell your information.
We are not the VA. Veterans’ Rights is an independent resource built for veterans. We are not the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, not part of the government, and not endorsed by any government agency.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, talk to a VA-accredited representative — many help for free.