The claim for VA home loan guaranty benefits is denied because the Veteran did not die from a service-connected disability and was not in receipt of compensation at the time of his death.
The deciding factor: The Veteran's cause of death was listed as small cell lung cancer, which does not meet the criteria for eligibility to VA home loan guarantee benefits due to lack of total disability rating for a service-connected condition.
- Claimed conditions
- small cell lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- November 5, 2020
- Citation
- 20071604
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 1,874 · Granted: 33% (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 20071604.
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.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claim of service connection for small cell lung cancer, for purposes of accrued benefits, due to a duty to assist error and statutory or regulatory duty.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient medical opinions regarding whether the Veteran's cause of death, including small cell lung cancer and coronary artery disease, was related to his in-service asbestos exposure. The VA must obtain an adequate opinion from a clinician.
- Granted
The Board grants an earlier effective date of March 24, 2023, for the awards of service connection for lung cancer, kidney cancer, and liver cancer.
- Granted
The Board granted entitlement to service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to small cell lung cancer, and awarded DIC benefits from October 20, 2016.
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