The Board has granted the appellant's claims for recognition as the surviving spouse of the Veteran and service connection for the cause of his death, attributing both to secondary service-connected PTSD.
The deciding factor: The July 2020 opinion from a private physician established that the Veteran's lung and pancreatic cancers were caused by smoking, which was linked to his service-connected PTSD.
- Claimed conditions
- lung carcinoma, pancreatic carcinoma
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- July 13, 2023
- Citation
- 23038984
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 23038984.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
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 determined that new and relevant evidence has been received, specifically the Appellant's May 2024 hearing testimony. The claim for service connection for cause of death is remanded due to a pre-decisional duty to assist error.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has determined that new and material evidence has been received to reopen the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, but further review is needed as there are conflicting opinions regarding the cause of death.
- Denied
The Board denied reopening of a claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran's death, finding no new and material evidence to support the claim. The appellant argued that pancreatic cancer was due to in-service exposure to herbicide agents and/or asbestos, but the Board found this evidence insufficient to reopen the claim.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board denied the claim for survivor's pension benefits due to lack of wartime service. The DIC claim is remanded as there may be exposure to asbestos and further development is needed.
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