The Board denied the claim of service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to small cell lung cancer, finding that there was no evidence linking the condition to his military service or exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
The deciding factor: The VA medical opinion found that the Veteran’s lung cancer risk from personal factors (such as smoking) outweighed any environmental risks from exposure to contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
- Claimed conditions
- Small cell lung cancer
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- March 11, 2021
- Citation
- 21014332
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 21014332.
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Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding that there was no competent and credible evidence to establish exposure to herbicide agents during his military service.
- Granted
The Board has granted service connection for the cause of death due to small cell lung cancer, which is considered a direct result of active military service. The claim related to VA treatment delay and carelessness in diagnosing and treating the Veteran's condition was denied under 38 U.S.C. § 1151.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's service-connected hepatitis C contributed substantially to his cause of death, small cell lung cancer. The decision grants service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death.
- Denied
The Board denied DIC benefits based on service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death due to lack of evidence supporting herbicide exposure during service in Korea, and thus no service connection could be established.
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